Nothing Without You
by mayghaen17
Summary: What if Stefan never got better and Elena realized she was better off with Damon? It starts off as a recap of the show until Chapter Four, then it goes original.  Part 1 in my VD series
1. Chapter 1

ONE

I laid in bed staring at the spot that Stefan had knocked over just a few hours ago. The look on his face still vivid in my mind; his eyes dark in bloodlust. I sighed and moved my eyes up to the ceiling. I tried everything I could to fall asleep, including counting sheep in every which way possible. My phone buzzed on my nightstand and I glanced at it for a second before picking it up. It was a message from Stefan. _Are you alright? I'm sorry about earlier_.

I smiled slightly. _I'm fine, I just can't sleep._

_I would normally come over to help, but I think I'm the reason you can't sleep._

I frowned at that and sighed again. _Trust me, it's not all about that. It's Jeremy too. And Uncle John._ I yawned mid-message and felt my eye-lids growing heavier. _I think I'm finally going to sleep now. Night, love you._ I fell asleep seconds after sending it, the phone falling from my hand to the floor.

After a night of horrific, vivid nightmares; all involving Stefan and his renewed want for human blood, I reached down for my phone, scrolled through the names and stopped at Damon's. The moment I had worked up the nerve to talk to him, I hit the call button and held the phone up to my ear. "Elena?" he asked after the first ring. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and then realized he wasn't actually in front of me. "I'm fine, I just... Can you come over sometime before the kick-off party? I need to talk to you about Stefan."

"I can be there in five seconds."

"No!" I nearly shouted and cringed. "Sorry, I just woke up and I'm not sure who else is. I would really appreciate it if you used the front door."

I could see him grinning over the phone and that image made me shiver. "How long should I wait?"

"Half hour?"

"I can do that. I'll see you in then," he said and the line went dead.

I got up and took a shower. I had just enough time to do my hair and make-up casually before throwing on jeans and a T-shirt before I heard the doorbell ring. I rushed downstairs to find Jeremy eating with his headphones on and rolled my eyes. I opened it to Damon and he grinned. "Thank you."

"You call, I come. I'm easy like that," he teased and flashed his sultry smile. I nodded to Jeremy and then headed up the stairs. He paused, "No, Elena. I will not go up to your bedroom," he said in a faked voice.

I rolled my eyes again and pulled him behind me. As I shut the door, I saw him grab the teddy bear from the bed as he flopped down and stretched out; one arm behind his head, the other holding the teddy bear in front of him. I leaned against my dresser and crossed my arms. "How was he this morning?" I asked.

"He's fine," he answered as he looked to my left to see the broken lamp and shelf that was piled on my chair. "What happened there?"

I looked at it and hesitated before looking his way again. "Nothing."

He narrowed his eyes and then stood up. He handed me the bear and I reached over to put him by the pillows again. When I turned around, he was holding up one of my bras. I pulled it away from him and shut the drawer. He then grabbed a photo from my mirror and I couldn't get it back from him. "Stefan is a creature of darkness just like I am. This is his true self Elena. It took him years to turn him into the disgrace that he is now."

I frowned as I took the picture from him and went to put it back in the mirror. "He will never be like you."

When I turned around, he was right there behind me. "No, he'll always be weaker, but again, we're hunters. It's what we do; who we are. The sooner he stops fighting it and accepts that, the better off he'll be," he said and backed up. "Now, you're going to be late for school. We wouldn't want that would we?"

I smiled faintly, "Thank you again." In an instant, he was gone.

My talk with Jeremy had gone better than I thought, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something. Then again, I was hiding something from him too. With Stefan and Jeremy running through my mind, I began getting ready for the party. "Are you coming?" I asked my brother as I poked my head into his room.

"Uncle John said as long as I showed up for a little bit, I wouldn't have to stay for the whole thing."

I smiled and extended a hand. "Come on, I'll drive."

I waited for Stefan to find me and smiled when I saw him stride over to me. My eyes flickered to Damon and I had to clear my throat in order to refocus on Stefan. "Are you drunk?" I asked after giving him a light kiss.

"It helps," he said. "With the cravings. Would you like to dance?"

I did a double take at him and almost chocked on my drink. "I usually have to beg you."

"Yes, sober Stefan doesn't like to dance. Drunk Stefan on the other hand, loves it."

"Nobody's dancing," I said flatly with a light smile.

He held up a finger and winked. "Let me take care of that."

Matt's mom laughed gently from behind me and I half turned to see her. "I already tried that. They said no."

"Stefan can be pretty persuasive when he puts his mind to it," I muttered as I watched him jump into the now dancing crowd and enjoy himself. Mrs. Donovan smirked and walked away as Damon made his way over to take her place at my side.

"Have I stepped into an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?"

I smiled as I watched him and then looked at Damon. "Is he going to be normal?"

"Eventually," he said in a deadpan voice and looked at me. "One way or another. Excuse me," he said and disappeared through the crowd.

Matt came up beside me. "Is Stefan alright?"

I laughed and hugged him. "He's fine."

"Want to dance?"

I shook my head with laughter sparkling in my eyes. "What is with the men in this town tonight?" I asked before following him to the dance floor. After dancing with him for a song, Stefan cut in and smiled. "Hello."

"You look gorgeous," he said as he spun me to him.

"You don't look so bad yourself," I said as he released me and I accidentally hit someone else.

He was very angry and whipped around. "Hey, watch it!"

"I'm sorry. I'm just clumsy."

"Yeah, whatever," he said and Stefan grabbed him hard.

"Apologize to her," he said forcefully.

"I'm sorry," the other man said half-heartedly.

He started to walk away, but Stefan grabbed him back. "Now say it like you mean it."

"I'm truly sorry," he said a little more enthusiastic before he walked away.

"I'm going to get a drink," I said and headed to the bar, leaving Stefan to dance with other girls.

Damon was there sipping at a glass of some strong alcohol. "So your brother just asked about Vickie's murder."

"Murder? He knows it was an overdose."

He shook his head. "He wants to know why someone buried her if it was, in fact, an overdose and if it was a murder who would do it? I know, I know! Me!" he hissed quietly. "I think I should compel him."

"No!" I said a little louder than I intended. "Please, he can handle it. I'll try to talk to him."

He said nothing as he pulled a rose from the plant next to him and handed it to me. "If he starts asking too many questions, I'm going to do something about it," he promised and walked away.

I stared at the rose and smelled it, smiling softly at the gesture. I put it in my handbag and on my way to the dance floor, saw Jeremy sitting in a small office type room. "Hey," I said and sat on the couch next to him. "I heard about your conversation with Officer Forbes. It was an overdose Jere."

"Then why would someone burry her? Elena, it just doesn't add up."

I had read his paper on vampires Mr. Saltzman had given me and I could feel my heartbeat quicken. Just exactly how much did my brother know? "Look, whatever it was, it's over with. She's not coming back."

"So you don't believe it was an overdose. Elena, what aren't you telling me? You can't even look at me," he accused and I suddenly felt trapped.

"I promise, if I knew anything, I would tell you," I lied as I looked him in the eye. "I have to go," I added and left, heading back to the dance floor where I ran into Matt. "Hi."

"Hello."

"Having fun?"

He smiled shyly. "Is it bad that I am?"

"No, you should be having enough fun for both you and Vickie," I said and laid a hand on his arm.

"I need some air. Want to join me?" he asked and I looked at Stefan who was drinking more.

I nodded then and buttoned up my shrug. When Matt closed the door to the patio, I stopped and took a deep breath. "Oh God. Matt-" I started as he saw his mom and Tyler making out like high school teenagers.

"Mom?!" Matt yelled and charged after the other boy.

As Kelly went for her son, she was flung backwards. After that, I lost track of her as I tried to yell at Tyler to stop. It was Mr. Saltzman who broke the fight up and I went to kneel by Matt. "Are you alright?" I asked and he pushed me away before running off.

I could hear my uncle beginning to give a speech and I didn't want to hear it. Instead, I was being asked about the fight. My uncle's speech was over just as I made my way to my car, I saw the man I had bumped earlier on the ground at someone's feet. "Stefan?" I called and then the other person was gone. I ran to the other guy. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little clumsy," he said, repeating my line from earlier.

I looked behind me at the darkened parking lot and shivered. Stefan was definitely not alright. I hurried to my car and drove home as fast as I could. Miraculously I wasn't pulled over. Jenna was fiddling in the kitchen and said goodnight as I walked up the stairs. Jeremy was sitting at his desk when I walked by his room. "Are you sure you're alright?" I asked and it startled him.

"I'm fine. Goodnight," he said and gave me a half-smile.

I nodded and went into my room. I made it to my bed and when I turned towards the closet, I almost screamed at the sight of Stefan. "Oh my God. What are you doing here?"

"I just...I had to tell you something."

"What is it?" I asked as I tried to reach for him but he pulled out of my reach. He said nothing, but his head was looking down. "Is it about the guy in the parking lot?"

His fists clenched at his sides and it was all I could do not to take a step back. "I can hear your heart beating as you attempt not to be afraid. Do you have any idea how hard it is to look at you and not think about the-"

"Stop," I said in a demanding tone.

He looked up then and his eyes were blackened and his face twisted into bloodlust. "I'm afraid of what I can do to you. Of what I _will_ do to you if I'm around you without everything in control," he said through his elongated canines.

Tears were threatening my eyes. "You're here and you haven't attacked me."

"It's taking everything I have not to pounce. I had the blood of Matt's mom on my fingers from where she had been cut. I can still taste it on my tongue," he said lightly as he took two steps forward, flattening me against the wall. I tried everything to keep calm and think straight. "You're afraid of me."

"Of course I'm afraid of you!" I hissed and tear ran down my cheek. I was trembling with both worry and relief as he stood there in attack mode, but not moving. "I think you should leave."

His fangs had bit into his lip from trying to keep himself under control. He nodded briefly before exiting through my window. I let out a deep breath and tears streamed down my face. I sank to the floor as my muscles gave out and I drew my knees up. When I could move, I made it to my bathroom to get ready for bed when I heard a noise. I went back to my room to see Damon lounging on my bed again. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine, thank you," I said. Then I narrowed my eyes. "What made you think I wasn't okay?"

"Stefan. He came in very tense with blood on his lips. I smelled you all over him."

"You thought it was my blood," I said and nodded and then grinned. My grin turned to hysterical laughter. "Oh this is good. I'm terrified of Stefan, but I feel safe when I'm with you. What the hell happened?"

Damon smirked as he swung his legs over the bed and made his way to embrace me lightly. As I relaxed, he held me tighter. "I think that you shouldn't see him until he gets control."

I nodded against him and tried not to cry again. "I know."

"It's not like you're breaking up with him. You can tell everyone you're taking a break," he suggested as he let me go.

"Tell me this isn't some elaborate scheme of yours to get me to yourself?"

He reached up and cupped my chin so lightly I could barely feel his fingers. It made me shiver deeply. "You're already mine Elena, you just don't know it yet," he breathed and it took a moment before I could step back.

"Will you do me a favor?" I asked.

"Sure."

"Take me to see Stefan. I need to tell him face-to-face that I can't be around him if I'm scared and he doesn't have control."

He nodded and in less than a minute, we were outside their house. "He's not going to take it well, but I'll be right on the other side of the wall in case anything happens."

"Thank you," I said and went in to find Stefan on the couch, staring at the fire.

"Elena," he breathed without looking up. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know, but I had to talk to you. We need to have this discussion now, before anything happens."

He stood and faced me. "You're breaking up with me."

"God no. I love you Stefan. That hasn't changed. I know what you are and I don't care. I know you would never hurt me, but you have to figure things out before you do things you can't control." I took a step closer and reached for his hand. "I don't care if you end up choosing to live off of human blood; it is who you are. I don't care if you go back to animal blood, I just want you to be you. I know you can have willing donors without killing and live off of blood bags. Do whatever you need to, just do it fast. Every day I'm without you is a day that I'm not me."

"So we're on a break?"

"That's what I'm going to tell everyone."

"You really wouldn't care if I turned into Damon?"

I swallowed hard and he saw it. "I hope not, but I can't help it if you do. The faster you get control, the faster we can be us again," I said and kissed him quickly.

I began to head back to the door where Damon was waiting as he stepped into view. "Damon?" Stefan called.

"Yes little brother?"

I had my back turned to Stefan because I didn't want him to see me cry. Not that I wanted Damon to either, but Stefan was a bit more sensitive at the moment. "I want- I need you to promise me that you'll take care of her and watch over her until I'm better. If she gets hurt while I'm not there to protect her, I'll kill you," he vowed and Damon simply nodded.

Then we were back in my bedroom. "I've had enough for one night," I mumbled and yawned.

"Get some sleep, you look exhausted," Damon teased and then saw me look at the window.

"He's been invited in. How am I supposed to keep him out if he's determined to get in?"

"Leave that to me," he said and caught my hand, bringing it to his lips. "Now, I mean it. Get some sleep."

He dropped my hand and I grabbed his arms before he left. "Thank you. Again, for everything," I said and hugged him hard.

"You're welcome," he replied and I was alone. As I fell asleep, I noticed the rose in a vase on my dresser.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

_Dear Diary. _

_ Today was strange. Bonnie came back and she barely said anything to me. Then Caroline found us and said that they had been talking the whole time. It was then I figured out it must have something to do with the way her grandmother died. I still have to talk to her about it and hopefully clear the air. It was even weirder having everyone ask me where Stefan was and if he was alright. I didn't know how to answer any of them. I haven't heard from Damon all day. I hope everything really is fine. This weekend is the Miss Mystic Falls competition that my mom signed me up for awhile back. I don't know how I'm going to explain to people that Stefan's not there._

I put my pen down as Jenna called for me from downstairs. I put the journal back into its hiding place and walked down the stairs. I paused to see Damon lounging at the bar with Jenna laughing and offering him a drink. "Damon's here to see you," she said without looking up.

"Where are you going?" I asked as she grabbed her purse from the chair.

"To the grocery store for dinner. Jeremy isn't home yet so you two behave yourselves," she teased and smiled on her way out.

Then we were alone. "How is he?"

He rolled his eyes and stared at me. "I think that question is going to get very old, very fast. I think we should refrain from using it."

"But-"

"I will tell you if he is getting better when he is getting better," he said with a bit more force.

"I want to know everything. Good and bad," I said, finally sliding onto the barstool next to him. "I need to know what's going on so that their aren't any surprises."

"Have I ever lied to you before?" he asked sweetly.

"No," I replied and propped my head up on my elbow to look at him. "There is another problem though. I'm going to be competing in Miss Mystic Falls and everyone's assuming Stefan will be there. I tried to tell everyone we were on a break, but I couldn't. I didn't even know what to say when they asked where he was."

"Say he's visiting family."

"Yes, but if he was, you would be there too," I said and sighed. "I thought of that already. I just said he wasn't feeling well, but who knows how long it'll be before he's back."

"Tell them it's the flu. That will give him a week or so."

"That's not enough time is it?" I asked lightly and stood up to get a glass of water.

When I turned from the fridge, he was there, standing a little too close for comfort. "I could always escort you."

My breath caught in my throat. I had always been attracted to him, but lately it was getting harder and harder to ignore it. I swallowed and he saw the hesitation. "How would I explain that? First Stefan's gone and I can't say anything and then I show up to a prestigious competition with his brother. That's going to send an image that I don't want," I said and slipped past him.

His eyes darkened with rejection for just a second that I almost didn't catch it. "Well, maybe by the weekend he'll be ready for a night out."

I smirked. "You're too kind."

"But I'll be there in case. It is, after all, a founders party and we are founders aren't we?" Damon asked with that sinister twinkle back in his eye.

"Don't you mean you were founders?" Uncle John asked as he walked in.

My grip tightened on the glass as I turned to smile at him. "His family settled here just like ours did."

John smiled with fake enthusiasm. "What are you doing here Damon?"

"He was just leaving," I said and pulled him to the front door. I shut the door behind me and we were standing on the porch. "Please, don't provoke him."

He grinned, "Too late sweetheart." Then he became serious. "Call me if you need anything and I'll be here," he promised and then was gone.

Over the course of the week I practiced the dance with someone I barely knew and found and had to assure everyone that Stefan would be there. They were getting more worried about him each day no matter how much I assured him that it was just the flu. During the last rehearsal, I saw Bonnie in the hallway waiting for Caroline. I rushed towards her to talk. "Bonnie, you've been avoiding me."

She looked down and then back up at me. "I'm sorry Elena, I just can't make you choose."

"Choose?"

She took a deep breath. "My grandmother spent her life protecting the town from vampires and she died letting them out. I blame Stefan and Damon for it and I will not make you choose between us. I know you love Stefan, but I just can't be around him."

Caroline came around the corner and I couldn't say any more. I waved and tried to smile, but it didn't reach my eyes. When I got to the parking lot, Damon was resting on my car. "Damon. How-" I stopped myself and he smiled.

"Good, you're learning. He's fine by the way and we both agree that he should be alright at the festival tomorrow. He knows the dance so you shouldn't have any problem there."

I frowned. "Is that really a good idea? It's going to be packed with people. I would have thought it would be too much for him."

"He wouldn't leave the house unless he was completely ready for it and you know that. He wouldn't put himself or you in danger," he assured me and opened my car door for me.

I remained where I was and crossed my arms. "Why are you being so nice to me and to Stefan?"

"Your uncle has made a few discoveries and the last thing I need is for Stefan to snap. It will get us both killed and since you know about all of it, there's no guarantee that you won't be hurt."

"That didn't answer my question," I said and tried not to smile.

His jaw tensed and he reached up to lightly skim my face with his index finger. "Despite what you think of me, I don't want you to get hurt or end up dead. Now, get in the car and go home. I will see you tomorrow with Stefan at the festival."

I opened the door to Mr. Saltzman and stepped back to let him in. "How is Stefan?"

"He'll be there today. He's fine," I replied and hoped that it was true.

"Alaric?" John said as he walked into the room. "Why are you here?"

"I'm the chauffeur," he said and grinned up the stairs at Jenna.

"I thought I was driving?"

"You can bring Jeremy," she said and winked at me before the three of us got into Alaric's car.

When we arrived, I saw Stefan and Damon standing off to the side, talking quietly between themselves. I smiled and looked at Jenna. "I'll meet you upstairs," I said and made my way over to the brothers. They stopped talking immediately and I shrugged it off. Damon smiled and walked away. "Hi," I said and wrapped my arms around Stefan.

"I've missed you," he whispered.

"I've missed you too," I breathed and hugged him hard. "I'm so glad you came. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Damon said it was one of the last things your mother requested you do."

I smiled and nodded, even though I didn't remember telling him that. "How are you? Any cravings?"

"No," he said and dropped his eyes. "I haven't had any blood since that night."

"Stefan, you still have to eat."

"I've had animal blood," he said.

I sighed and nodded, knowing he didn't want to say anything else about it right now. "I have to go up and get ready, but I had to see you first. I love you," I said and kissed him soundly.

When I pulled away, he caught my hand and stared into my eyes. "I love you too," he said and smiled back at me.

There was something different about him, but I let it slide as I headed upstairs to do my make-up and hair with Aunt Jenna. We talked and reminisced about my mom, making me forget about my current trouble. I stood up and Jenna's eyes teared over. "You look beautiful. Put your dress on and I'll be waiting downstairs," she said and hugged me hard.

I made my way to the dressing area and opened the door to another contestant. "Amber? I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I just get panic attacks when I'm so nervous," she said and took in several deep breaths. "You can have the room," she said and sped passed me, closing the door behind her.

I grabbed my blue dress off of the fake wall and stiffened as the air in the room changed. I jumped when I turned and saw Damon. "What are you doing here?"

"We have a serious problem," he said as he looked at the dress.

"I have to get ready. It can wait." I was testing him, seeing if he would come back with a snappy remark, but he didn't. "What is it?"

"Your boyfriend has a giant fridge full of stolen blood bags in the house."

My blood went cold. "He said he hadn't had a drop of human blood. He said he was using animal blood."

"Well, he lied to you," he said curtly.

Both of our heads snapped up to the door as Stefan walked in. "What's going on?" he asked as he eyed Damon and then me.

"Just telling Elena about your extra-circular activities. I'll be downstairs," he said to me and then left.

Stefan laughed nervously and shook his head. "I don't know-"

"You lied to me."

"Elena-" he started and looked me in the eyes then.

"Elena, we're about to start the dance. You're not even dressed yet," Mrs. Lockwood hissed as she came to the door. "Stefan, escorts wait downstairs."

He held my gaze for a few more seconds and then turned around and walked out of view. I hurried into my dress and met the other girls at the top of the stairs. "Have you seen Amber?" Caroline asked me.

I shook my head as I leaned over the railing and looked for Stefan. "Do you see Stefan down there?"

She looked for a second or two and then shook her head. "No, I don't see him."

"I should go look for him. I can't do this. I'm not this person anymore," I said and started to walk away.

Caroline pulled me back. "You promised your mom that you would do this and I would be a horrible friend if I didn't let you go through with it. I want to win and it wouldn't be a fair competition if you weren't in it. You look great and you deserve this Elena."

It melted my heart to hear those words from her after all the trouble with Matt her and I had had a few weeks ago. "You look great too," I said and hugged her.

Just as I let her go, they called her name and she walked down the steps to meet her escort because Matt couldn't get off of work. Then my name was called and the butterflies in my stomach kicked into overdrive. I walked down the stairs with a smile plastered on my face as I looked for Stefan and found absolutely nothing. It was when Damon stepped in front of me to take my hand that I became really worried. "Where is he?" I whispered.

"I don't know," he whispered back and led me outside with the other groups.

I could see the faces of my family in the crowd and the faces of everyone else wondering what I was doing with Damon instead of Stefan. _Let the rumors begin_, I thought as we began the dance. Amber wasn't there either, but I pushed that thought out of my mind as I held Damon's gaze. His eyes burned into mine and all the worries, fears, and the people around us faded away into nothing. I had never felt this way with Stefan and deep down I know that it should have worried me, but it didn't. At the end of the dance, the fronts of our bodies were touching and I couldn't breathe. I had never wanted to kiss anyone more than I wanted to kiss Damon in that moment.

And it scared me.

I pulled away and cleared my throat, trying my best to act normal. "Thank you for filling in for him. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You're welcome," he said and slipped away, into the crowd.

It was later that evening before the contestants were called onto the stage so that Mrs. Lockwood could crown this year's Miss Mystic Falls. "All of you girls, thank you so much for everything you've done for our community. We're proud to announce that this year's winner is...Miss Caroline Forbes!"

Caroline turned to me with the biggest grin on her face and I returned it. "Congrats!" I said and hugged her. "You deserve it!" I whispered as she pulled away so that she could be crowned.

As I stepped off the stage, Jenna hugged me. "Your mother would have been so proud," she whispered and I saw Alaric who smiled. He nodded and I knew that he meant my real mom would have been proud too. It made this touching moment very awkward.

"I know," I said and tried to hold back tears at the thought of my parents.

"What happened to Stefan?" Alaric asked and stared at me as I pulled away from Jenna.

"I don't know. He just disappeared," I said. "I'll let you know when I find him," I said and made my way through the crowd to Damon who was beckoning me over to him. "Yes?" I asked when I got there.

"There is a small bathroom upstairs where the mirror was broken and blood was in the sink," he said softly.

"Stefan?"

He nodded once. "I think so."

"You knew he was still on human blood and you still brought him. How could you?" I hissed as we walked outside.

"I didn't know it was this bad!" he said as he stopped and forced me to look at him. It was then I saw the pain and regret in his eyes. I let it go for now and followed him to the parking lot and then into the woods.

There, we found Stefan and Amber with blood streaming down her throat and the front of her clothes. "Amber?" I almost screamed in alarm.

"Stay out of this! I don't want you to see it!" Stefan yelled and charged at Damon. He flung him into a tree and I was frozen in horror.

"Stefan, stop it!" I yelled and the two of them began fighting. It wasn't until I noticed Bonnie behind me that Stefan stopped and dropped to his knees clutching his head. "Bonnie?" I questioned. "Bonnie, stop!" I pleaded and when she did, Stefan was no longer in bloodlust.

"What have- What have I done?" he asked and then ran off.

"You two go back to the party," Damon snapped as he bent by Amber who was now laying on the ground. "Now!"

Bonnie and I walked in silence and it wasn't until she got to her car that I tried to talk. "Bonnie, I-"

"I told you I wasn't going to make you choose, but I hate him. Both of them. I'll always be there for you, but I can't support you being with him," she said and drove away as the police showed up.

I was questioned and then stood at the front door entrance to the Founder's Hall and waited for nothing in particular. It was Alaric who found me. "Elena, there you are. Ready to-" he stopped when I turned to him. "What happened?"

I looked around and shook my head. "Not here."

He nodded and gave me his jacket. "I'll tell your aunt I'm taking you home now. We can talk then."

I said nothing as I waited for him and then began to talk while we were in the car. I filled him in on everything and he gave me one of his tranquilizers and we set up a plan. I called Damon and when he got to Alaric's we told him what we were going to do and he agreed. "Come on," he said and led me to his house. "I will be right here, just yell and I'll be there," he assured me and I walked up to Stefan's bedroom.

The door was open and I took a deep breath before entering. Stefan stood up and turned to face me. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know that, but I want to know why you lied to me. You said everything was under control. Stefan, I told you-"

The glass he was holding went flying into the wall to the side. "I know what you said."

"Then why did you lie?"

"Because I know you wouldn't want me to be this way. You're terrified of me turning into Damon and I don't blame you. I can't control it and I don't know how to begin. Elena, I don't think I'll ever be the Stefan you know."

"Yes you will. Don't say that," I said and took a step closer. "You can still be the same Stefan I met who didn't need human blood to live. You can go back to animal blood."

"No I can't!" he yelled and it startled me.

"I believe you can," I said and let a tear fall down my face.

"You don't get it."

"Then explain it to me," I pleaded and took another step.

"Stop," he said lightly. I took another and another. "Stop!" he yelled and rushed me so that I bounced off the wall with him hovering in front of me. "I said stop!" he yelled again and it was more out of frustration than anything. It broke my heart.

"I love you. You can get through this. I know you can," I whispered over and over again until he relaxed and embraced me.

"I love you," he breathed and for the first time, I didn't say it back to him. Instead, I grasped the tranquilizer and stabbed him with it. The look in his eyes as he slipped to the floor shattered what was left of my broken heart and I let the weapon clank to the floor. Damon came in and I helped him drag his brother down to the basement to lock him up in the holding cell.

"You did good," Damon assured me and tipped my face up to look at him.

"Do you think it will help?"

"I don't know. I do know that your uncle is not going to happy and he'll be knocking on my door bright and early tomorrow about the attack on the that girl. It's better this way. Go home and get some sleep Elena, you've had enough for one night."

"No. I'm staying right here," I said and slid to the floor in front of the door and watched him stop in the hallway. He sighed before coming back and sitting next to me. I could only stare at him as he reached forward and took my hand. I used my other hand to wipe away silent tears. "He has to get better," I whispered more to myself than anything.


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

As my eyes fluttered open, it took a few minutes to realize that I was in my own bed. The gentle rays of the sunrise where gleaming through my window and I stilled as I saw that it was open. There was a message on my phone and I checked it. _I brought you home so if your uncle did show up, you wouldn't be here._ I yawned again and then noticed I was wearing a long T-shirt over my bra and panties. My dress was draped over a chair.

I got up and took a shower. From there I dressed for the day and headed downstairs. Jenna was up making breakfast. "Hey, good morning."

"Morning."

"Where were you last night?"

"At Stefan's. I'm really sorry I didn't call. He wasn't feeling good and that's why he left early and I just wanted to check on him. I fell asleep on the couch, but Damon brought me home."

"I know, I saw him walking home after I went to change you. Sorry, I didn't think you'd be comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt."

I smiled and took the plate of food she offered. "Thank you. After breakfast, I'm probably going to go back over there. I'll be home before it gets too late."

She nodded, "That's fine. I'm glad you're alright."

After I finished eating, I went upstairs to grab my phone and my purse before driving back to Stefan's. I didn't bother knocking on the door before heading in. I wandered around the house, not wanting to go to the basement. There was no sign of Damon so I retreated up to Stefan's room. I sat on the edge of his bed and noticed a door slightly ajar at the end of the hallway. I walked slowly towards it and pushed it open quietly. There Damon was, laying in bed with nothing but a sheet wrapped around his waist. I stiffened and before I could close the door, his eyes opened; a smirk immediately on his face. "You can come in if you'd like."

"I'll be downstairs," I heard myself say and turned with all the willpower I had to walk back down to the living room. When he joined me, I laughed at the sight of him in nothing but black lounging pants. "Not the outfit I would have ever thought I'd see you in."

His grin widened. "I can lose them if you'd like."

I looked towards the basement. "Has he woken up yet?"

"He's back to his brooding self," he said and blocked me from walking to the cell. "I can't let you down there."

"I want to see him."

"I know that, but if he wants out badly enough, he'll get out and I don't think I'll be able to stop him from ripping your throat out. Withdrawls are the hardest part he's going to face through this."

I said nothing as I looked at him for a few seconds. I decided he was right and stepped back. "Thank you for bringing me home earlier."

"You're welcome. And as soon as I got home, your uncle showed up asking questions about Stefan."

"Jenna saw you walking home after you dropped me off."

He nodded, "I saw her at the window so I decided to walk until she left. I was just glad I chose to drive you home and hurry back my way." He watched me as I surveyed the room over and over again. "There's nothing you can do here Elena. You should go home."

"I'm either going to worry here or I'm going to worry there. This way I won't have to lie about anything," I said and looked straight at him, trying to keep my gaze on his eyes and nothing else.

Unfortunately he noticed my struggled and grinned before rushing upstairs and coming back down with a shirt that he began to button up. "Well, then what do you suggest we do to pass the time? I have a few things I think would work."

"I'm sure you do," I mumbled. "No offense, but I don't want to talk."

His eyes sparkled with mischief as he came even closer. "That's good, what I had in mind didn't require talking." I held my ground, trying to hide my smile. "You must still be tired. I didn't drop you off that long ago. You're more than welcome to stay in Stefan's room. If I have to leave, I'll let you know, otherwise I'll be around."

"Thank you," I said again and slipped past him up to Stefan's room. I shut the door and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I let my mind wander back to the night in the woods where Stefan was being held captive by the other vampires. I felt a tear slide down my face as I relived the moment where he had taken my blood. I was the reason he was in this condition. It was all my fault. I curled up and hugged the pillow and drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

When I woke up, I checked phone and decided to call Jenna. "Hey, are you coming home any time soon?"

"I'm probably going to eat dinner here. Stefan wants me watch all these old movies I don't like," I lied, trying not to think about him in the cell.

"Alright. If you're going to stay the night, let me know before ten."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"You know I don't. Just be careful," she said and I smiled over the phone.

"Thank you Aunt Jenna. I'll call you later," I promised and hung up. Before I went down stairs, I called Alaric. "Mr. Saltzman, it's Elena."

"Everything alright?"

"He's locked up for now. Damon says there's nothing left to do but wait."

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you for helping us last night," I said and hung up. As I opened the door, I heard the bass and treble of music from the stereo system downstairs. When I reached the bottom I saw Damon drinking a glass of blood, somewhat moving to the beat. He turned around and then stopped. I was smiling widely. "There you go, surprising me even more."

"You don't dance by yourself?"

"Not in the living room when I know someone's home."

He finished the glass and put it out of my sight. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I don't think I should."

"Oh come on. You know you had a lot of fun the last time we drank together."

I smiled lightly as I remembered our trip to Georgia. It was the first time since I'd met him that I'd learned that I could trust him and he wouldn't hurt me. "Alright, pour me something," I said.

He grinned and gave me a glass with whiskey in it. "I think you can handle this stuff," he said and turned up the music. It wasn't long before I was feeling the alcohol and dancing with him in the middle of the living room. "Welcome back Fun Elena. I've missed you," he shouted over the music at one point.

I didn't say anything until I hit the coffee table in the back of my knee and plopped down on the couch. "I'm going to be very hungover at school tomorrow," I said between giggles and then groaned at the thought of school.

"You didn't even drink that much," he said in a more laid-back tone than normal. "I shouldn't have let you drink on an empty stomach. Come on, we're going to get food."

I sobered up almost instantly. "If we go into town, everyone's going to assume there's something between us."

"I can cook."

I just stared at him, wondering if I was hearing things. "But you don't eat food."

"No, but it would be weird if I never went to the store at least once a week to buy food. I knew you'd be here more with Stefan down there and I picked up some things for you," he said. "Just stay put and I'll make something."

I was completely dumbfounded. He was being sweet and gentle and I was beginning to get annoyed that it was only when we were alone. I knew he didn't treat Caroline this way because he was only using her. I got up and stumbled my way as quietly as I could to the basement. As I reached the landing to the stairs, Damon caught my wrist. "Let go."

"Elena, you have to stay away from him. If he really wants out, he'll get out," he said in a harsh whisper and began tugging me.

I twisted out of his grasp, but remained where I was. "It is my fault that he's here in the first place and you know it. If I hadn't made him drink, we-"

"Would both be dead," he finished for me and it stunned me. "If he hadn't taken your blood, you would have been killed right alongside with Stefan. And to be honest, I would have killed most of this town over it," he added.

He had moved so close that he was barely touching me and my back was flat against the cold stone wall. His hands were on either side of my head, bracing himself against the wall. I felt my eyes begin to water and I looked down. "I still can't help but feel that this is all my fault. If I had never-"

"This is all because of Katherine. No, it's all because Stefan told our father about her. If he had kept his mouth shut, none of this would have happened."

I looked up at him then and saw the pain in his eyes as he mentioned Katherine. It was then that I reached out and kissed him. It took us both by surprise and we stood there for a few seconds before that small flicker of passion became a raging fire. His hands cupped my face at the same time my arms encircled his neck. His lips were soft and gentle as they moved with mine; our tongues dancing and delving together. I felt lightheaded from intensity of the kiss and we were both completely rattled when a sudden noise came from the cell. We jumped apart and stared at each other.

"Elena?" came Stefan's voice; full of confusion and pain. I knew he couldn't see us, but it still made my heart thud against my chest as it tightened. I said nothing as I hurried upstairs, grabbed my things, and rushed to my car.

I came home to Aunt Jenna making dinner for Jeremy and Uncle John. "Hey Elena, you're home earlier than I thought you'd be," she said and then looked at me.

I nodded as I remained where I was. "He went to bed pretty early. We ate already. I have homework to do," I said and then headed up to my room. I half expected Damon to be sitting on my bed and was stunned to see an empty bedroom. I laid down and stared at the ceiling. The images of the incident in the cellar and everything with Stefan replaying in my mind over and over again. I dug out my iPod and turned it up as loud as it would go to drown out my thoughts. After countless songs, I drifted off to sleep to what I hoped would be a dreamless night.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N. My apologies for the non-whitty Damon, I promise I'll have him back to normal in Chapter Five :). I know that I was mostly redoing the show, but from here on out it will be whatever comes to my mind with show tossed in here and there. Thank you so much for the reviews!!!**

FOUR

I woke up to music blaring in my ears. I shut my iPod off and put it on the nightstand. As I laid there, staring at the ceiling, I realized I was awake way before my alarm was to go off. I turned my head slowly to my alarm clock and saw the clock read two in the morning. I moved back to stare off into space and rubbed my temples from my pounding headache; a reminder of how much I had had to drink. I sat up and debated what to do. I was too tired to sleep, my nerves were fried and I was on high alert. I decided to get up and go downstairs for a glass of water. When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped as I heard a muffled voice coming from the living room off of the kitchen. I strained my ears and tip-toed down a few stairs to hear better.

"No, I don't know how much she knows, but I can assure you, it's not looking good," came Uncle John's voice. That was odd, he was staying at a hotel and I was under the impression that he left after dinner like he always did. I crept down a few more steps and then crouched down. "Yes, there was an attack at the celebration. Clearly a vampire's doing." He paused to listen to the other person and then continued. "She says he's sick, but we know better than that. Even Damon's protecting him and from what I've been told about him, I find it very concerning." My blood turned cold as I realized he was talking about me. I had a suspicion from the first sentence I had overheard, but the realization was frightening. "I can't keep promising to keep her safe Isobel. You, of all people, know how dangerous vampires can be."

Isobel. He was talking to my birth mom.

I straightened up and walked down the rest of the stairs to confront him. He was startled for only a second before he hung up the phone and turned to me. "I thought you had left?" I said as I reached for a glass in one of the cabinets.

He tried to smile to keep away from the fact that he knew I had been eavesdropping. "Your aunt and I were reminiscing and she took my keys."

I nodded and took a small sip of water. "Who was that?"

"Business."

"At two in the morning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable, but held my gaze. "Could you get your keys from her room? I'm sober now, I promise."

"Be right back," I said and went back up to Jenna's bedroom to retrieve Uncle John's keys from her dresser. When I returned, he had his coat on and was waiting by the door.

"Thank you. Goodnight Elena."

"Night," I said and watched him leave from the front door. As soon as he was out of sight, I rushed upstairs, threw on some clean clothes, and sped over to Stefan's. Again, without knocking, I let myself in. "Damon?" I called out and waited in the living room.

He came up from the basement with a raised eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I've been trying," I said in a tight voice and tried not to think about the last time I had seen Damon. If he wasn't going to mention it, neither was I. "We have a problem."

He smirked, "What else is new?"

"Uncle John was talking to Isobel in my kitchen just a few minutes ago. About me."

"What did you hear?" he asked, suddenly serious. I told him everything that I had heard and he just nodded. "Last time I talked to him he mentioned Isobel."

"And you didn't tell me about it?" I asked, a little angry that he was keeping things about her from me. I shook it off and straightened my shoulders. "I'm going to see Stefan."

He blocked me from the basement entrance and I looked up with eyes wide in surprise. "Don't go down there."

My heart stopped and my blood turned icy. "Damon...what's wrong?" He pressed something into my palm and I felt tears roll down my face as my fingers closed around a small, cold, metal object. "No," I breathed, my eyes locked with his. "He wouldn't."

He stepped back, never breaking my gaze and gestured towards the cell. "See for yourself." I took a few slow steps down before I began running to the bottom where I saw the cell door blown off its hinges. I opened my hand and resting on my palm was Stefan's ring; the one that kept him safe in the sun. He was out there somewhere, unprotected, and not in control of himself. My legs gave out from shock and disbelief, but Damon was there to catch me before I fell.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" I yelled as I recoiled from him, clenching my hand around the ring again.

He looked taken aback when I stepped away, but it was short lived as his usual demeanor came back. "I was on my way up to call you when you showed up."

"Where were you? I thought you weren't leaving the house?"

"I'm not a babysitter, Elena. I'm not spending the rest of my life sitting at home waiting for Saint Stefan to gain control," he said bitterly. "You're the one who locked him up," he said and went back upstairs.

Anger boiled inside of me as I followed him. "You cannot blame this on me."

"Why not? You were blaming this on you earlier. I'm simply choosing to agree with you," he said as he poured himself another drink. "To answer your question, I was out collecting animal blood for him. When I came back, I found the door in the hallway and the ring on the floor."

"He wouldn't just leave would he?"

He laughed then. "Why? Did he promise you forever Elena? Is that what you're angry about? Forever isn't all it's cracked up to be."

As he finished his glass, I realized why he was acting this way. He was feeling as conflicted as I was. Stefan hadn't just left me; he'd left Damon too. And they had just started getting along. "Damon, do you know where he went?" I asked in a softer voice. He started to shake his head and then stopped as if he remembered something. "Damon?" I called after him as I followed him up to Stefan's room. He began tearing things apart as if searching for something. "What are you doing?"

He stopped as he pulled out a small wooden box off of the bookshelf and opened it up. "Damn it."

"What?" I asked, surveying the room.

"It's gone."

"What is?"

"Katherine's ring," he said and looked at me. "Stefan had Katherine's ring from before she thought she was getting locked in the tomb. He thought I didn't know about it, and now it's gone."

I stared down at the ring I had in my hand. "I don't understand. Why would he leave without his ring and then take Katherine's ring with him?" I shivered as it finally sank in that he was out there, by himself, and not in control of his urges. "Oh God. Damon, what if he kills someone? We have to find him."

"You aren't going to do anything. You are going home and going back to bed," he said as he grabbed my shoulders, spun me around, and steered me towards the stairs.

"You're going after him though."

"Yes."

"You promised him you'd protect me."

"I know that. You're human. If you come with me, you will get killed," he said as we walked down the stairs.

"I don't care. We have to find him and help him get back to being himself."

He stared at me. "What about school? Your family? Your friends? It could take months to find him and there's no guarantee that I'll get you home safely. You won't be able to explain this to anyone and your life will never be the same."

I took a deep breath and straightened up. "I used to think that the only thing that mattered was school, boys, college, family, and the latest fashion trends. That changed when I met Stefan. He opened my eyes to the real world and the things that are out there. Everything else doesn't seem so important anymore. Stefan was one of the good people and I can't return to my life knowing that I was the reason he went off on a major killing spree and managed to die. Again. I will not be the second girl who killed him. I'm going with you."

He was smirking as I made my little speech. "If I left you, you would follow me anyway."

I smiled lightly. "Yes. Besides, Uncle John knows that I'm involved in all of this. With both of you gone, I'm in danger as it is. Just promise me that I'm safe with you; that I can trust you."

"I will never lie to you. That is the only thing I can promise," he said as he stared at me. "You, on the other hand, must do exactly as I say, when I say if you're coming with me."

I nodded. "Stefan couldn't have gotten very far. He only left, what, about an hour ago?" He inclined his head once and crossed his arms, waiting for me to go on. "Maybe he's still around town. He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"That we hold off on driving around the world until we know for sure that he left. For all we know, he could be..." my voice trailed off as I realized he might have gone to see me and the only two people at home were sleeping. "I have to go home," I added and turned to the door.

When I got to my car, Damon was opening the passenger door. "If you're right, there's no way I'm sending you there alone."

I gripped the steering wheel before starting the car and continued to look forward as I asked, "Do you think he saw anything?" My throat was tight and I could feel his eyes burning into my skin.

"He didn't see anything," he assured me. I was waiting for some sort of snarky comeback. When I got no other response, I sped home. I parked in the driveway and opened the door and he went in first. I followed him up the stairs as silently as I could and waited at the landing while Damon went into my room. "All clear," he announced and I walked to my room.

My nerves slackened and I felt a little head rush as I closed my door behind us. "I still think he's in town," I said and watched him approach the window.

"You're scared of him."

"Of course I'm scared of him. I know he would never hurt me, but that's when he's in control of his actions. He's different now, he's-"

"Like me?" Damon interrupted with a smirk as he turned back towards me.

"He's not like you. You wouldn't hurt me either and you have your cravings under control."

In the blink of an eye, he was behind me with an arm around my waist, pinning both arms down at my side and the other hand tilting my neck to the side. "The thing about humans is that they're fragile. Who's to say I don't want to hurt you Elena?"

"You would have done it already. You've had plenty of chances," I breathed, struggling to keep the bit of fear I had for him from surfacing. He let me go and I turned around to see him leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Home," he answered without turning back.

"Damon-" I started, but stopped until he turned back.

"Yes Elena?" that mischievious gleam in his eyes.

"Will you stay?" I asked and he remained in the hall. "Please?" I added, barely audible to human ears. He didn't say anything as he came back in and gently closed the door behind him. He sat down on the chair while I stood there. "You don't have to sleep in the chair."

"I'm not going to be sleeping," he assured me.

I crossed my arms and stared at my window again. "Well, I'm not going to bed. There's a deck of cards somewhere downstairs."

He stood up next to me with a grin that went from ear-to-ear. "Only if it's strip poker."

A smile barely touched my face and I shook my head. "I wouldn't even play that with Stefan. Not without a few drinks."

"I'm much more fun than Stefan and I can arrange the drinks," he said in a hope-filled voice as he followed me down to the kitchen.

I rummaged through the drawers until I found the cards and we sat on the floor to play. "I doubt Jenna would like the fact that you managed to get me drunk twice in one day."

His eyebrow shot up. "So that's a yes for another time? I'm holding you to this," he said in mock seriousness as I cut and dealt the cards. "What are we playing?"

"Black-jack?" We played for well over an hour before I starting losing because I couldn't count. He took the cards and put them neatly on the coffee table before moving me to the couch. I was laying on two out of the three cushions while he sat on the last one and turned on the TV. "Thank you for staying," I mumbled even though my eyes were closed and I was half asleep.

"You're welcome," he replied and I was barely aware that I moved my head into his lap and pulled his hand down around me before I slipped into the deep sleep that I had been fighting. The last thing I thought of was our shared kiss in the basement just a few hours ago.


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE

When I woke up, it took me a moment to realize that I was on the couch in the living room. Something moved and my heart skipped a beat before I realized that I was laying on top of Damon. He was awake with a smirk plastered on his face. "Good morning," he breathed, his blue eyes sparkling with satisfaction.

I pulled myself off of him slowly, careful where I put my hands. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock. "Jenna will be getting up soon. You should go. I'll bet you're hungry," I said and then yawned.

"Was that an offer?" he asked and arched an eyebrow.

I stood up and stretched, learning how sore I was from sleeping in one position. I looked up at the ceiling when I heard Jenna's alarm go off. Then I looked down at Damon who was lounging on the couch. "No," I said and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Oh come on Elena. I let you sleep on me for three hours and you won't even make me breakfast?" he taunted as he plopped down on one of the barstools.

I opened the fridge and looked around. "There's eggs. I think there's bread in the pantry. I can make toast too," I said and shut the door to smile at him.

He had a feigned look of hurt on his face, but the look in his eyes was sheer hunger. I realized I didn't know the last time he had eaten, I'd been too concerned with Stefan to notice. "That was not exactly what I had in mind," he said.

I looked away from him and proceeded to make toast anyway. "You should go home and eat Damon. The last thing I need is for you to snap like Stefan," I said and then immediately regretted it. I stopped what I was doing with the toast and just stood there avoiding his gaze.

I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. "Do you want me to meet you after school?"

"No, I want you to go out looking for Stefan," I said with finality and then looked at him. "I'll call you if I need you and you call me if you find him."

He sucked in a sharp breath and smirked at the same time. "Bossy Elena. I like it."

I kept my head down to hide my smile as I steered him towards the door, opened it, and pushed him out onto the porch. "Thank you for staying with me last night."

He reached out and played with the necklace around my neck, his fingers lightly brushing my skin. I tried my hardest not to shiver. "I should probably find you a bigger necklace."

It was my turn to smirk. "Bigger is not always better."

His eyes were blazing. "We'll see about that," he said and put down the necklace slowly. "Be careful," he demanded before disappearing from sight.

"Elena?" Jenna said in a tired mumble as I shut the door. She scared me a little. "Are you just getting home?"

"No, I-" I started and then smiled apologetically. "I snuck out in the middle of the night to see Stefan. Sorry."

She frowned as she walked with me to the kitchen. "Normally, I wouldn't mind, but with that latest attack... It's not safe out there Elena. Promise me you won't do that anymore?"

I nodded and resumed making the toast as Jenna got out the eggs and the skillet. "I promise. No more sneaking out."

"Thank you," she said as we made breakfast together before I got ready for school.

School was tedious and boring. I couldn't focus and nothing was holding my attention for more than five minutes. I was exhausted; running on little sleep and I was still looking over my shoulder for any signs of Stefan. On my way to my car, Matt stopped me. "Hey, I've been looking for you all day, where were you?"

I stared at him in confusion. "I sit next to you in math?"

He laughed lightly. "Yes, but I can't talk in that class. Not without getting detention. I went to find you after, but you were too fast."

"I just wanted to get home," I said and started digging for my keys.

"I wanted to invite you to come to the Grill with Caroline, Bonnie and I tonight. We're celebrating Caroline's win. We were going to go last night, but I ended up working. It would mean a lot to her if you would come."

I thought about it for a second and then nodded. "Things still aren't good between Bonnie and I."

"I think you two can set that aside for a few hours. For Caroline," he added.

I bit my tongue on all the comments I had about Caroline never holding her feelings back for any of us. I smiled instead and nodded. "What time?"

"Six?"

I nodded and pressed the button to unlock my car. "Alright, I'll be there. I promise Bonnie and I will have this all worked out before we arrive."

"Thank you so much Elena," he said and squeezed my shoulder before rushing off to meet with Caroline.

As I pulled into my driveway, my phone rang and I answered it to Jenna. "Hey," I said as I sat in the car, staring up at the house. It was sad how scared I was to go in by myself.

"I have to show a client around to a few different properties today. I don't think I'll be home for dinner."

"Where's Jeremy?"

"He said he was going to the library to do his homework," she said and I could see her shrugging in disbelief over the phone.

"Matt invited me to the Grill to celebrate Caroline's win because everything was closed that night," I said. "I wasn't going to be home anyway."

She laughed. "That boy must love his job if he goes in to hang out on his day off."

I smiled at that. "I was thinking the same thing. I have to go, but have fun with your client."

"Oh yeah," she said sarcastically. "Bye," she added and then hung up.

I sat in the car for a few more minutes before I put in in reverse, backed out, and drove to Bonnie's before I could stop myself. I marched up to her door and knocked. Her mother let me in and I made my way up to her bedroom. "Bonnie? It's Elena, can I come in?" I asked softly.

She answered the door and looked around. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. Can we go out for a late lunch? Coffee?"

She stared at me and then nodded reluctantly before grabbing her purse and following me back out to my car. "What made you come over?"

"You're my best friend Bonnie. Nothing will ever change that," I said, not wanting to talk while I was driving. "Matt invited me to the Grill with you guys tonight and I wanted us to clear the air so that our focus is on Caroline."

Bonnie laughed for the first time since that night at the tomb; and it was real. It warmed my heart. "Because Caroline never gets any attention?"

I parked in front of the coffee shop and when I got out I hugged her. "I've missed you so much and I don't want what happened to come between us. I know there will always be some tension, but just let me know when I'm over stepping and I'll back off. I don't want to lose you as a friend."

She squeezed my hand. "I don't want to lose you either. I don't blame you for any of this. It wasn't your choice to get dragged into all of this."

I smiled at her as we walked in. We ordered coffee and sat outside on the patio as we talked about everything we had missed in the past couple of weeks. Except for the elephant in the room that was Stefan Salvatore. As we walked back to my car, I saw the flower shop across the street and looked at her. "Would you mind doing one more thing with me today?" I asked sweetly.

She saw where I was looking and nodded. We bought flowers and got back in the car as I drove to the graveyard. We walked arm-in-arm to my parents' grave and put the flowers on them. "I don't remember the last time we were here," she whispered.

"I don't either," I said as I stared at the head stone. "I'm really glad we got to talk."

"Me too. I'm sorry I took things out on you."

I hugged her again and when we broke apart, I kissed my fingers and touched the marker before we walked back to my car and I drove her home. She waved as I drove back to my house with just enough time to get ready for the get together Matt had planned. As I parked in my driveway, I had the same fear I had earlier that day. This time I forced myself out of the car with my phone in my hand and Damon's number at the ready in case something happened. "Jeremy?" I called out, hoping that he was home.

Nothing.

I walked to my room, trying to shake the bad feeling and stilled as a sudden loud noise filled the air. I waited for a few seconds before I realized it must have been the air conditioning or the house making it's usual noises. I opened the door, dumped my things on the bed, and walked into my closet to browse my clothes. Something moved and I caught it from the corner of my eye. I tried not to show fear, but reached out with my other senses in hopes to know what it was. I really hoped it wasn't Damon playing a joke because I would stake him.

I took in a deep breath before I called out softly. "Damon?" my voice was feeble and my heart sped up in my chest. "Damon, this isn't funny," I said as I stepped out of the closet and looked around. I noticed my window was open and glanced at the phone on my bed. Something moved again and I made a mad dash for my phone. I scrolled for his name and pressed the call button despite my shaking fingers.

"Miss me already?" he said on the second ring.

Before I could say anything, the phone was ripped from my hand and flung across the room where it broke into pieces. I screamed as someone caught me in a tight grip with one hand and bent my head to the side with the other hand. The sting of sharp fangs piercing my flesh earned another scream as I fought my attacker. Stefan had once told me that to have blood taken against your will was like dying the most painful death imaginable and at this very moment I believed him. I could feel my life slipping away as the room began to swim from the rapid blood loss. I fought until I couldn't move anymore. I was gasping for air as my attacker dropped me to the ground. My head hit the floor with a thud and I groaned in pain.

"Elena? Elena, oh God, I-" I heard a distorted voice as if they were far away.

I tried everything I could to see who was speaking, but couldn't. The last thing I saw was someone climbing out my window. They looked back and for a split second, my vision was clear. "Stefan..." I breathed and then everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

I didn't move as I started to regain consciousness. I could feel the room spinning despite the fact that my eyes were closed. I could hear someone moving in the next room and the smell of blood filled my nose. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around the room. It was unfamiliar and I was slightly afraid. My hand moved up to rub my temple from the pounding headache and my heart nearly stopped as I saw Stefan's ring on my finger. A strangled cry escaped my lips as I stared at my hand in horror; the images of the attack playing fresh in my mind. "Elena?" Damon called as he stepped into the room.

"What the hell?" I asked, holding up my hand, still sitting because I didn't trust my legs to hold me up.

"I think it speaks for itself, don't you?"

"This isn't funny," I said as he leaned against the door frame with a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

"I think it's hysterical," he said in a flat voice. His eyes flashed at my reaction. "What, forever isn't good enough without Stefan?"

"Damon..." I whispered and tried to hold back tears.

His movements were deafening to my ears and his cologne stung my nose. "Don't worry, you're still human," he said as he plopped down on the bed next to me. He tilted my chin so that he could see my throat.

"Then why am I wearing this?"

"You called me and then I heard nothing on the other end. When I got to your house, you were almost completely drained of blood. I brought you back here after I saved you and when I was sure you were stable I went back to your house and cleaned up your room. You've been out ever since."

"What time is it?" I asked, my stomach churning.

"Almost midnight. You've only been out for a few hours. Not days."

I breathed a small sigh of relief that was short lived as I realized I was supposed to meet my friends at the Grill. "Oh God, Jenna-"

"I called her and told her you were here with Stefan. She mentioned the Grill and I told her you skipped it. Your friends, however, did not call."

My eyes widened as I thought of exactly how he had "saved" me. "Damon...what exactly did you do to save me?" I asked slowly.

He narrowed his eyes. "You really have to ask?"

"I just want you to confirm it."

"I gave you my blood. That is why you're wearing the ring. The amount I had to replace is going to make all of your senses heightened almost to my level and you're going to be sensitive to the sun," he said and leaned back on his elbows.

"Thank you," I said and smiled inside at the surprise on his face.

"Well, well. This is new."

"You saved me. Because of you I'm alive. I don't see why I would be angry at you. I would have done the same for you."

He looked away from me and stood up. "How many vampires have been invited in to your house?"

"Two," I said, looking anywhere but him. I couldn't stop fidgeting and got to my feet where I could pace the room. "Is it supposed to feel like this?"

"Like you could run a marathon? Jump off a bridge? Have a wild, one night stand?" he asked with an arched brow.

"Yes, yes, and no," I answered. "And to answer your unspoken question, I don't think it was Stefan. I heard someone talking before I passed out, but they sounded far away the voice was distorted. I don't know who it was."

"Elena," he chided. "It couldn't have been anyone but Stefan and you know it. It is a good thing though."

"How is being attacked by my boyfriend a good thing?"

He looked a little tiffed by my choice of words. "At least we know he's still in town."

"I don't think-"

"I can smell him. His scent was all over your room when I walked in."

I stared at him and then looked down. "He's been in there before."

"Yes, but it was a fresh scent," he replied.

"For all you know, he could have wanted to talk."

He shook his head. "We both know that if he wanted to talk, he would have announced his presence."

I sighed and balled my fists. "Fine. Maybe it was Stefan. Look, can we not talk about this right now?"

"What would you like to talk about then; the weather; how you kissed me the other night; life in general?" he asked nonchalantly.

He was trying to catch me off guard; and he succeeded. I tried to answer him, but couldn't. "I didn't-"

"You most certainly did. I distinctly remember you throwing yourself at me."

"I didn't mean to and it won't happen again," I said and pushed past him.

"I don't blame you. I truly am irresistible," he teased as I walked down the stairs and to the front door. As I reached for the handle, he was there, preventing me from leaving. He lightly tipped my chin up. "I was kidding," he said, but there was something in his eyes that I had never seen before and it made me nervous. "Besides, you can't go home. I won't let you."

"I have to go there eventually. I can't not go home."

"You need to rest. You're still adjusting to the blood," he said as he grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. I said nothing as I walked upstairs with him following behind me. I saw a pile of clothes on the trunk at the foot of Stefan's bed and turned to look at Damon. "I figured you'd be here for awhile."

"You brought clothes for me?"

"I thought that was obvious, but yes, Elena, I brought clothes for you."

Before I could stop myself, I flung my arms around him. "Thank you for everything. I know how hard it is for you to be nice," I said lightly and was glad that he realized I was teasing him. He slowly put his arms around me and I couldn't blame him, my mood was changing back and forth rapidly. I assumed it was the vampire blood and stepped back.

"You're welcome," he replied and took his time in letting me go. "If anything happens, I will be right there."

I nodded. "Night," I said and closed the door. I sat on the foot of the bed, staring at the clothes and a small duffel bag full of toiletries that he had also taken the liberty to pack for me and it warmed my heart. As I stretched out on the bed, I put my hand over my neck and flinched slightly as my fingers brushed the new skin where I had been bitten. I held my hand up to inspect the ring and then sighed as I turned on my side and stared off into space. I thought I was going to be with Matt forever and along came Stefan. My life had changed and he had promised me forever. Literally. Only now, he was gone and his brother was still here.

And for whatever reason, I couldn't get him out of my mind.

The gentle rays of the morning sun gleamed through the window and I could feel the uncomfortable sensation on my skin. I stilled as an arm slipped around my waist and I realized my head was curled on someone's chest. When I realized I was in Stefan's room, my heart quickened as I became hopeful. He had come home. My arms tightened around him and without saying anything, I tilted my head up and pressed my lips onto his chin. I refused to let my eyes open, afraid that this was a dream as I scooted up so that I could kiss his lips.

There was no way that this was real, but I didn't want it to end. My lips grazed his only for a brief second before they parted and I kissed him passionately. This was the happiest I had been in weeks and it came to a crashing stop as he rolled me onto my back and whispered in my ear, "I believe you have the wrong Salvatore brother. But by all means, continue."

My eyes shot open and I pushed him away. "What are you doing in here?"

He had a satisfied look on his face as I sat and hugged my knees to my chest. He looked around. "The better question is, what are _you _doing here?"

I opened my mouth to argue and then realize he was right. It was similar to Stefan's room, but it was definitely Damon's room. "How did I-"

"You got up to use the bathroom and came in here instead."

"Why didn't you just move me?"

"And miss this wake-up call? Never," he said with a massive grin as he glanced at the clock. "You're going to be late for class."

I said nothing as I retreated to Stefan's room, took a fast shower, and then got ready for school as fast as I possibly could. Damon was waiting for me downstairs. "How did you explain to Jenna that my car was still there?"

He tossed me my keys. "I drove it back here."

"Thanks," I said half-heartedly and left without saying another word. I was late to my first class, but the teacher either didn't notice, or didn't care. At lunch, I found my friends and decided to sit with them.

"Where were you?" Matt asked, disappointment clear in his voice.

"Jenna said you went to Stefan's," Caroline said as she grabbed her tray and moved to a different table.

"I guess I deserved that," I said, feeling Bonnie's eyes on me with concern. I was certain she knew what happened, even if it was only speculation. "I'll make it up to her, I promise," I said to Matt as he went to comfort her. "Can we talk?" I asked Bonnie.

She nodded and we went outside and found a secluded place to sit. "Are you alright? Did something happen? I told Caroline that you wouldn't have blown her off without a good reason. I've been trying to call you, but your phone is disconnected."

I nodded, "I have to get a new one later. After I dropped you off, I went home and while I was getting ready I was attacked. If I hadn't called Damon at the last second, I would be dead right now."

She narrowed her eyes. "Damon saved you? Then who attacked you?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

She nodded and then noticed the ring on my finger. "You look really pale. Did something else happen to you?"

"I'm still me; not a vampire. I'm wearing this because Damon gave me a lot of his blood to keep me alive. It has some strong side effects," I informed her.

"I still can't get over the fact that Damon saved you."

"A lot changed since that night Bonnie. Look, I don't want to talk about Damon, I just wanted you to know that you should probably be on the look-out too. We will get to the bottom of this though and..." my voice trailed off as I looked at her.

"You might need my help," she said flatly.

"I might, but I won't ask you unless there's no other way and you can always say no. I understand if you don't want to help."

"I'll think about it. What are you going to tell Matt and Caroline?" she asked, changing the subject for me.

I shook my head. "I don't know, but I'd rather have them hate me for a little bit than know what really happened. The Council is already on the hunt for vampires, the last thing I need is for Caroline to open her mouth about it."

Bonnie nodded in agreement and the bell rang. "Elena?"

"Yes?" I returned before we parted ways in the hall.

"Be careful with Damon," she said before turning away and leaving me in the hall, wondering if she had seen something in a vision.

After school, I went to get a new phone and was grateful that they gave me my same number. I called Jenna and left her a voicemail before going back to my car. I paused when I saw Uncle John waiting for me. "Ah, Elena. How are you?"

I looked around uncomfortably. "I'm fine."

He nodded and just stared at me. "We need to talk. Do you have a minute?"

Someone dropped a dish in the bistro next to my car and it made me jump. John noticed, but didn't say anything. "Where?"

"We could take a walk," he said and urged me to follow him away from the town to the little park on the other side of the road. "How is Stefan?"

"He's fine," I growled.

"Elena, I know what he is. I know what Damon is. When were you going to tell me that you were dating a vampire?"

"The same time you were going to tell me about your conversation with Isobel," I retorted as we both stopped near a shaded bench.

"So you did hear me."

"Stefan is different. He wouldn't hurt anyone," I said and even I didn't believe myself.

"Then what happened to him on Saturday? He just disappeared. Did he attack that girl?"

"I don't know," I said in a small voice.

He pursed his lips as he rubbed his chin. "The last entry that John Gilbert wrote was that he had killed both of his sons because they rescued Katherine from being put in that tomb."

My eyes went wide in surprise. They hadn't told me that. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I'm giving you three days to hand Stefan over to the Council. If you fail to do so, when I launch a hunt, your name will be on the list of those to take down. Human or not, you're helping them, therefore you are the enemy. I don't want to see you dead, but if you force me, so be it. Now run along and deliver my message to Damon," he said and started walking away. "Three days Elena. I mean it," he called over his shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I would like to thank clarkloveslana for bringing to my attention that I made a mistake in Chapter Six on Stefan and Damon's father. It was supposed to be that the original John Gilbert wrote about how Guiseppe Salvatore killed his sons. Sorry if that confused anybody!! Thank you so much for the reviews :) as it turns out, it does get me motivated to write more...enjoy!**

SEVEN

"Did you not hear me?" I asked as I stood in front of the fire place, watching Damon pour himself another drink. I had rushed straight over here and told him about what John had said.

"I heard you," he muttered over the rim of his glass before he took a drink. "I just don't see what I can do about it."

I mumbled a string of curses as my hands fisted in my hair out of frustration. "You're being impossible. Last night you saved me and now you're just going to let me get killed."

"He's not going to hurt you."

I began to pace. "He's not my real uncle. He's always known that and I don't think he ever cared. Damon, we have to find Stefan and-"

"And what?" he asked as he set the glass down.

I shook my head as I raked a hand through my already disheveled hair. "I don't know," I breathed, close to tears. "He's not going to stop until we're all dead."

"Lucky for you, you'll just wake up again."

"This is not funny Damon!" I hissed as I threw a pillow at him from the accent chair closest to me.

It had sloshed his drink, some of it spilling out onto his shirt. "No, it isn't. I'm not going to run from this town. I was here first, if anyone is going to leave it will be that damn Council."

"Either way, we still need to find Stefan. Before anyone else does."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

I crossed my arms, trying to block out all the strange noises my ultra-sensitive ears were picking up. "You're his brother-"

"Don't remind me," he muttered as I continued.

"Don't you know of any place that might have special meaning to him? Is there someone he knows that would take care of him?" I asked, watching his face change at my first suggestion. "Damon, where would he go?"

"I have a place in mind, although we should probably start thinking of ways to lure him out of hiding," he said and with a hint of a grin as he took another drink.

"And by that you mean use me as bait."

"Good guess," he said as he stood up.

"So when are we going?"

"_We_ are not going anywhere. I am going to check for him after dark. You are going to stay here."

"I'm safer with you. Besides, he'll be more likely to talk than attack if I'm there," I said and his eyebrow shot up. "Usually."

"Don't you have homework to do? Cheerleading practice? Something else to do?" he asked as he stood up and refilled his glass.

I tipped my head to the side. Something was bugging him. "Did I say something; do something to you that I'm not aware of? Have you eaten?" I asked, wondering what in the world I could have done to make him this angry with me after he was teasing me this morning.

He winked as he downed the glass and put it next to the bottle. "Those blood bags are getting stale."

I smiled and put my head down in attempts to hide it. "Then go get some fresh blood."

He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "You want me to feed on a human?"

"Not necessarily, but if it's going to make you stop being this way, then I'll deal with it. I have homework to do anyway. I've been in your way too much as it is," I said and moved to the stairs.

He grabbed my wrist as I passed him and I held his gaze. "I didn't mean to lash out at you. I'm sorry."

"I know," was all I said as he released his hold and I walked up to Stefan's room. I put on my iPod and started doing my homework. It had been a few hours and I was smelling something delicious coming from downstairs. I left everything spread out on the bed and wandered downstairs. "You cooked?"

"I told you I had food in the house for you," he said as he pulled something out the oven.

"Yes, but I didn't think it was actual meal stuff. I was expecting hot pockets or..."

"Eggs and toast?" he supplied, referring to what I had offered him the other day. "I am Italian; cooking is embedded in our nature."

I shook my head as I watched him move around the kitchen. "This is too normal; especially for you." He only shrugged as he served up two plates and I sat down with me at the island counter. "You're eating?"

"Why not?"

I didn't say anything until I took a bite. "What is this? It's amazing?"

"Family secret," he said with a smirk.

I swallowed and then looked at him. "If I'm getting on your nerves by staying here too much, I can stay somewhere else for a little while."

"You can't go home, you said Matt and Caroline were mad at you, and I thought Stefan had been invited into Bonnie's house?"

"Bonnie's grandmother's house. Her parents aren't really keen on school-night sleepovers though."

"You're fine here. I just needed to eat, like you said."

"Did you?"

He grinned, "Do you really want to know?"

"Not really," I said and we finished the meal in silence. I helped him put everything away and then leaned against the counter. "Now what?"

"You said you wanted to go after Stefan, but it's a little early for that yet," he responded and headed for the couch. "I'll let you know when it's time."

I remained where I was as I looked at the ring on my finger and played with it. "Why do you think he attacked me?" I asked as I moved to sit on the opposite end of the couch and turned my head to look at Damon.

"That's something you'll have to ask him. Maybe he did want to talk, like you said, but because he wasn't in control of himself, he fed from you instead. I don't know."

"Why do you hate him so much?" my question came out despite how much I did not want to get into this at the moment. I did not like this impulsive side of me.

"I'm not sure you can handle that right now."

"Try me," I insisted. I sat with my back on the armrest and hugging my knees to my chest.

He took a deep breath and even as he stared at me, I got the sense that he was looking through me as he was seeing his past playing out in front of him. "Katherine promised me forever. She also promised Stefan forever. He was weak as a human; just as he is weak now. Katherine had to compel him to drink from her. I drank willingly. It was supposed to just be her and I; alone forever."

"You're angry because he changed too," I said lightly.

"I'm sure we weren't the only poor bastards she fooled into believing that she actually meant forever. If Stefan hadn't gone to my father to play devil's advocate, none of this would have happened and I would be with her. Not here babysitting my brother because he can't get himself together. As I said before, we're hunters. Denying what we are is worse than being the living dead."

"Did you truly love her or was it just because of what she was and what she could do for you?"

Thankfully he took that question as I had meant it; out of curiosity and not out of mockery. "I don't know. I would like to say truly, but I don't know."

I nodded and played with the ring absently. "I've seen the picture, but other than that I don't know anything about her. Am I anything like her?"

He thought for a moment before he answered. "You look exactly like her; there's no way around that. She was cruel and bloodthirsty. Unafraid and ready to use people just for the fun of it."

"Sounds familiar," I mumbled and he smirked.

"You, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. You don't retaliate; you're logical and you think of a plan before you act. You care about everyone you meet, even if it is annoying. The best part about you is that you do what you need to, no questions asked. You're not afraid of anything, but unlike Katherine, it works to your advantage."

"So we're the same but different?" I asked in order to sum up what he had said.

He nodded, "Why the sudden interest?"

"It's not sudden. Every time I ask Stefan, he says a few words and changes the subject."

"He didn't know the real Katherine," he said with anger and sadness clear on his face.

There was a few moments of nothing but silence. "If we find Stefan, what are we going to do? Locking him up is not going to work and I'm not handing him over."

"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."

"What is it?"

"I can drain him dry, force him to listen to us, and then pump him full of animal blood. It should calm him down long enough for him to make rational decisions," he said with a gleam in his eyes. "Or I can just drain him and be done with him."

"No, we're not going to tell him."

"I can pump him full of vervain like he did to me," he said with a bitter tone.

"The only flaw in that first plan is that you don't know how much human blood he's had since he's been out. He nearly drained me, who's to say he's the weaker Stefan we knew?"

"So you admit he was weak?"

I sighed, "I'm not stupid, I know he wasn't as strong as he could have been, but it was strong enough. Either way, he'll probably use that to his advantage if he sees us coming. What if he's not even there?"

"Then nothing will happen and we'll just come back here."

I nodded and looked towards the fireplace. "I just want him to come back. I want Stefan back," I said quietly, almost unsure that I had said it aloud.

I closed my eyes as I felt the cushion next to me sink and then Damon's arms were around me, pulling me to him. I sobbed on his chest, unable to stop myself. He stroked my hair and just sat there silently. When I had pulled back, he surprised me by wiping my tears away. "As much as this pains me to say this, he will get through it."

"What if it's not that if he can't get control?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, watching me closely as I stood up.

"Have you ever heard of someone putting a curse on a vampire? To control them or something? Maybe someone's been waiting for an opportunity to take over the town, saw Stefan in distress, and took it."

"The only witch I know of was Sheila. She's gone now. Bonnie's still a beginner," he said and looked lost in thought. I assumed he was wracking his brain to think of another witch in town that would be waiting for something to happen. I was disappointed as he shook his head.

"It makes much more sense then him being unable to refrain from human blood. It just doesn't add up," I said as I paced.

"John gave us three days. Tomorrow we can do some digging and see if something sparks my memory. While you're at school, I'll go to the spot where I think Stefan might be and see if I can sense him."

"You won't attack him?" I asked.

"I promise you, I will not attack. Unless he attacks me first. I'll wait for you to get back here before we go skim the archives. If John's keeping his word, it means I can convince Officer Forbes to give us unrestricted access to the towns' records."

"I'll just say I'm doing a report for history," I said and smiled lightly at him. "I guess I'll go finish my homework," I added and headed to the stairs. "Goodnight Damon. Thank you for dinner."

"You're welcome. Try staying in your own bed this time," he said with a giant grin on his face and satisfaction in his eyes as my cheeks turned red and I made my way to Stefan's room again. It didn't take me long to finish my homework, change, and before I knew it, I was out cold.


	8. Chapter 8

EIGHT

School was just as boring as always. At lunch I had told Bonnie about my run-in with Uncle John yesterday and told her to be careful around him just in case he decided to come after her for information too. History was my last class of the day and I waited until everyone had left the room before I approached Mr. Saltzman. "What can I do for you Elena?"

"Uncle John threatened that if I didn't hand Stefan over to him by Friday, he was going to consider me an enemy of the town. Needless to say, Damon and I are going through archives to find leads on a hunch I have. I'm going to say that I need the information because I'm doing it for an extra-credit paper for your class. I'm letting you know up front so if they ask you about it, I won't get caught," I explained as briefly as I could.

He nodded, "But you don't need extra credit."

"You can alter my grades. Just until we get this resolved."

My phone rang and I answered it to Damon. "Where the hell are you?" he asked, clearly worried and I smiled.

"I'm in the classroom with Mr. Saltzman. Why?"

"I'm in the parking lot waiting for you."

"Well, you didn't tell me that you would be here. I'll be out in a minute," I said and hung up.

"Jenna?"

"Damon," I said and put my phone back in my pocket.

He only nodded but the expression on his face said that he wanted to ask me something. Instead, he said, "Let me know if you need any help."

"I will. Thanks for letting me use you as an excuse," I said as I walked out of the room and to the parking lot where Damon was waiting for me by my car. "We're going now?"

"I already went to see the sheriff and she gave me an all-access pass. Let's go before John messes this up."

"How did you convince her? I thought she was wearing vervain," I said as I got in the driver's seat.

"She does. She likes me though; something to do with finding me outrageously attractive and charming. Like mother like daughter."

"Disgusting," I breathed and then a thought occurred to me. "Since you're a womanizer, was there anyone in town that you were seeing before Katherine came to town? Anyone you just left?"

"Probably. Then again, I didn't know that supernatural stuff existed until Katherine told me what she was. Someone I was seeing could have very well been a witch and I never knew about it. Why?"

"Maybe they're trying to get revenge on you."

"Witches die, just like humans."

"Yes, but their hate for you lives through the generations," I said, referring to Bonnie.

He smirked as he shrugged. "We'll see what we find."

I parked and we walked inside city hall. Damon handed his access card to the receptionist. She gave him a key to the room and pointed us in the right direction. "Sheriff Forbes said you would be alone for the time that you were there. I'll make sure of it," she said, her eyes following Damon like a love-starved puppy. I rolled my eyes and plucked the key out of his hand.

"Come on," I said and tugged him away from the desk.

"Jealous?" he asked as I opened the lock.

"Of what?" I asked, not looking at him as I entered and sat at one of the five computers. The town was in the process of updating all of the old documents onto computers so that they could put the originals in storage. There were several boxes piled in the corner with labels and files for us to go through in case nothing came up.

"Oh please, it was completely obvious," he said as he sat down next to me.

I ignored him as I began sorting through pages and pages of everything I could find at the foundation of the town. It had been hours and my eyes hurt from reading off of the computer screen. Damon had gone through the boxes of files and came up empty as well. "All they said was there were witches in town that were given immunity because they helped get rid of the vampires," I said as I shut off the computer and looked away.

"So now can we try my plan?" he asked as he got up and stretched.

I shook my head more out of habit than as an answer. Then I remembered something Bonnie had told me Monday over coffee. "Bonnie said she took her grandmother's spell book before her parents could find it. Do they only keeps spells in there or is it like a diary?" I asked.

His eyes widened as he recognized where I was going with this. "It depends on who was writing it. Some prefer just the spells, other prefer the diary method. Speaking of, have I made my way into yours yet?"

I rolled my eyes as I stood up. "Come on, we should head over to Bonnie's."

He smirked at the fact that I had intentionally ignored his question. I gave the key to the receptionist and we headed back to my car. We stood outside while I called her. "Elena? Everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. Bonnie, I have a huge favor to ask of you."

She was silent for a moment. "What is it?" She was uneasy about it and I completely understood why.

"Would it be alright if I came and took a look at your grandmother's spell book? It's really important."

"Is Damon with you?" she asked and I saw his curiosity peak, letting me know he was listening.

"You don't have to invite him in if you don't want to," I said and he frowned and put a hand over his heart.

"My parents are leaving for dinner with friends of theirs in about half an hour. You can come over around then," she said.

"Thank you so much. I'll see you later," I said and disconnected the call.

"I'm hurt."

"Can you blame her?" I asked as my stomach growled. "What time is it?" I asked and looked at my phone. "Six-thirty already?"

"Want to get something to eat?"

"Are you buying?" I asked, fishing out my car keys.

He narrowed his eyes as he grabbed my keys away. "Only if you'll walk with me. It's only two blocks away. This is the center of town," he said and held out his arm.

I slipped my arm into his and we walked down to the Grill. All the way there, I could feel eyes on me as if we were being watched. I could tell Damon felt the same way because he stiffened at the same moments I did. I stopped in the doorway as I saw Matt cleaning the table. "Shit," I muttered as he looked up and did a double-take at my being there. With Damon. Arm-in-arm. He shook his head and looked away.

"Don't worry about him," he said as he led me to a booth in the corner where he could watch the door.

"I can't help it. It's like I can tell what he's thinking and I don't like it."

"Let him think what he wants. It's human nature, even with the full story, they still think they were right in the beginning," he smiled as the waitress arrived and took our orders. I had the usual and Damon ordered the same.

"Did you feel like we were being watched?" I asked in a low voice even though no one was here and the music seemed to keep our conversation private.

He looked a little concerned. "You felt that? Did you hear anything?"

I nodded slowly; something in his town made me shiver. "Should I not have heard anything?"

"It's been two days since I gave you blood. Yes, I gave you a lot, but your senses should have dulled by now."

I took a deep breath. "Well, they're not as strong as they were yesterday, but they're not that much weaker."

He leaned back against the booth, one armed draped over the back. "We have bigger things to worry about," he said, dismissing the topic.

"I'll be right back," I said and headed to the bathroom. When I came back into the small hallway, someone ushered me back in and locked the door behind them before I had the chance to scream. "Matt? What the hell are you doing?" I asked, my heart pounding against my chest.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said, arms crossed against his chest.

I put my hand on my chest as I tried to regulate my breathing. "About Damon?"

"What else? You've been hanging out with him a lot lately. I'm worried."

"I'm still with Stefan," I said tightly. "It's just that...that Damon isn't the asshole that everyone thinks he is." His brows rose in amusement and I closed my eyes. "Well, he is, but...I can't explain this right now Matt. It's too complicated."

"Elena, he's-"

"I know he's dangerous!" I snapped and then regretted it. I knew he was still a little sore over the fact that he had to witness Damon and his mother together a few weeks ago. "I'm asking you to trust me. I will tell you everything as soon as I can."

"Everything? No detail left out?"

I nodded once. "Just stop asking questions when it comes to Damon and Stefan."

"Are you alright? That's all I care about, Elena, I would fall apart if-"

I held him tightly before he could finish that sentence as what happened to Vickie played out in my mind again. "Don't think about that. Ever. Okay?"

He nodded against my shoulder and then stepped back. "I'm sorry I scared you," he said and held the door open for me. I made it to the end of the hallway, catching Damon's eye briefly before Matt spoke again. "And Elena?"

I turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"You can come to me about anything."

"I know," I said and smiled as I walked back to Damon. He was perched on the edge of his bench, muscles tense and ready to pounce if he needed to. "He just wanted to talk," I said as I slid into my bench.

"I heard," he muttered. "You know you can't tell him everything."

I said nothing as I took a drink of water. We ate in silence and I didn't speak until we were outside again. It was getting dark and I crossed my arms over my chest, wishing I had brought a jacket. As I thought it, Damon wrapped his leather one around my shoulders. "Thanks," I mumbled and we walked to my car. "Bonnie's parents should be gone by now."

I pulled my eyes out of his jacket pocket and smirked as he realized he'd forgotten he had put them there. "Let's go," he said, climbing into the passenger seat.

We spent the entire drive arguing over the radio. When I parked and got out, he remained in the car. "Are you coming?"

"Why? She's not going to invite me in," he said and I tilted my head at the hurt in his voice.

"Maybe. Bonnie can surprise you," I said and left him there to ring the door bell. She opened the door and stepped back for me.

"Where is he?"

"In the car," I returned and we both look at it.

"Do you want him in here?"

"Look, I know you have every reason to hate him-"

"Elena, he got my grandmother killed and he attacked me. Have you forgotten about that?" she asked.

"No," I said and cursed myself because I actually had forgotten about that. "I told you, you didn't have to let him in. Let me go tell him," I said and went back to his side of the car.

"I told you so."

I handed him the keys. "I won't be long," I promised and paused when he grabbed my hand while taking the keys. It sent a shock through my body and it was all I could not to tear my hand away from his grasp. "Sorry," I mumbled and went back to the house. _I would really appreciate it if you didn't eavesdrop_, I typed up the message to him and sent it as Bonnie went to get the book.

_Why? Are you going to be talking about how badly you want me?_ There was mockery and sheer curiosity that I could just hear in the back of my head.

_Please?_ was all I sent back.

_Just this once._

Bonnie was trying not to smile as she sat with me in the living room. "That's not a good sign."

"What?"

"You're texting him and he's right outside. How long has it been since you've spent a day without Damon?" I grabbed the book, scaring myself with that answer, and opened it. She let it go and rested her head in her hands, elbows on her knees. "What are you looking for?"

"I don't think that Stefan would intentionally give in to his cravings. There's something else going on. I think that there might have been another witch back then that saw this as an opportunity to ruin Damon and Stefan while taking back the town. Or something like that. It's just a hunch."

"Have you tried Katherine's diary?" she asked.

My blood turned cold as I turned to look at her. "Huh?"

"Emily mentions it in her journal."

"You have Emily's journal?"

"Grandma had it with the spell book. Hang on," she said and came back with a small, leather bound book. She flipped through the pages and then handed it over. I read it to myself even as Bonnie summarized it. "She said she walked into Katherine's room and saw her writing in a book like her own. Katherine said it was her memoir and tucked it away. Emily always intended to read it, but never got the chance."

I read it again and looked at her. "Katherine was alive for quite awhile and I think she did what she did to Stefan and Damon in places all over the world. She had to have other witches in her company," I said, mostly to myself. "Does she mention where she kept the book?"

She shook her head. "No, and I've read it a few times already. I'm sorry."

"Maybe Damon knows something," I said and closed the books before handing them over to her.

"Thank you for doing this. You know you didn't have to."

"As much as I hate them, I know you love them and Stefan really is a decent guy. If he's being played, I'll be willing to help, but-"

"I know, I won't ask much."

"I meant, if you can't find her journal, I could try contacting Emily. She might know where to look."

"You would do that?"

"I'd rather have Stefan and Damon protecting the town rather than anyone else terrorizing it. I'm still a witch and once they realize I know what I am, they'll come after me too. I'm sure of it."

I hugged her. "Again, thank you."

"Keep me updated."

"Be weary of Stefan. If you can, avoid going out after dark."

She nodded and opened the door for me. "Drive safe," she said and waited behind the threshold until I was safely in the car.

"How did it go?"

"She has Emily's journal and in it there was a mention of Katherine's memoir. Did you know she had one?" He smiled bitterly and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "What?"

"That's the only part of you that reminds me of her. When you write in your diary."

I ignored the fact that I never actually remembered him seeing me write in it. "Any idea where it would be?"

He shrugged, "The last place I saw it was in the old house which is now a few stone piles. Then again, she may have taken it after she escaped."

"Do you think there's anything useful in it?" I asked as I parked in front of his house and got out.

He held the door open for me. "To be honest, I never cared to read it. I was always...preoccupied," he said; eyes sparkling.

I looked away from him. "Well, should we start searching?"

"You haven't given up on this? Can't you just admit that Stefan's lost to human blood and move on with it?"

"If Katherine had done this, would you have just let it go?"

"No, but-"

"Do you have any idea how much it's killing me to see him this way? Knowing that's he's hurting and I can't help him?"

"Elena-"

"No!" I hissed and stepped away from him as he reached for me. "The parents that did care for me are dead. My fault. My mother abandoned me the day I was born; I have no idea who my real father is and now Stefan's gone. The one person who made me feel like I belonged somewhere is gone. Again; it's my fault." Tears were threatening to fall and I was truly surprised that I wasn't crying.

"Hey, none of this is your fault. Stop blaming yourself for this," he demanded and reached for me again.

I shook my head as he held onto my shoulders for comfort, not quite sure if he should hug more or not. "I know I'd be dead right now if I hadn't given him my blood, but it would be better than watching him the way he is now. I-"

I was startled as this time he kissed me. I didn't hesitate as I began to kiss him back. My arms went around his neck as he put his hands on my hips. The kiss was full of so much passion and pent up emotions that it shut off every logical, rational thought I had in my mind. I groaned as he pushed my back against the wall and kissed me even harder. His hands slid down as far as they could so that he could pick me up to let my legs wrap around his waist. I knew this was wrong, but ignored it and fisted my hands in his hair. I was vaguely aware that he had used his superhuman speed until I was beneath him on his bed. Not once did he break the kiss. His hands slid up my shirt, making me tremble out of want. I opened my eyes and looked into his bright blue ones now glassy with desire and kissed him even harder. My legs were still locked around his waist and I began to shake even more as his lips trailed from my lips to my throat. I kept my hands in his hair and took a deep breath at the sensation of his lengthening fangs against my skin.

Right when I should have felt that white-hot pleasure/pain, there was a loud crash from downstairs. "Stay here," he demanded in a very strangled voice as he hurried out of the room faster than my eyes could process.

I stood up on two very unstable legs and made my way to the door. It had felt though I had been allowed to visit paradise for only a moment before I was brought back to reality. My thoughts cleared almost instantly as I saw the blood on the floor and the door wide open. "No," I breathed as I somehow made it down the stairs. Now the tears were flowing down my face as Damon knelt on the floor. "No," I cried and dropped to my knees beside him.

There, lying face down in a pool of blood at Damon's feet, was Stefan.


	9. Chapter 9

NINE

It was somewhere around two in the morning when I started to feel tired. Damon and I had changed Stefan's torn and bloody clothes, wiped off the blood from his skin, and fed him bottled animal blood that Damon had gotten for him when he was locked up. Stefan was laying on the couch still unconscious with his head in my lap. "Elena, you should go to bed."

It was the first time either one of us had spoken to each other since before Stefan showed up. "I want to be here when he wakes up," I said and then yawned.

"You still have school in the morning."

"I'll ditch," I said dryly and stroked Stefan's face lightly. "I'm not leaving him."

Damon ignored me as he picked me up off the couch and carried me to Stefan's room. I was too tired to try to fight him. "Get some sleep. I'll stay with him. He's stable, it shouldn't be long before he wakes up," he said as he walked away.

"Damon?" He paused but didn't look back. "Whatever he tells you, you have to tell me. I don't care how horrible it is, I have to know what happened to him."

He turned back then and nodded, "I will tell you everything as soon as I know," he promised and in an instant I was asleep.

The next morning I got ready for school and headed downstairs to see Stefan still on the couch with Damon in a chair watching him. The ghost of his hands on me made me shiver and I shook my head to snap out of it. I cleared my throat. "Any change?"

"No."

I knelt in front of the couch and cupped Stefan's face. I knew it was cruel to do this with Damon watching, but it should not have mattered. I leaned forward to kiss his forehead lightly and stood up. "I'll be back," I said and went to my car.

I was surprised when I made it to school because my focus was definitely not on the road in front of me. The first half of the day breezed by and I could barely remember what happened in each class. Bonnie saw me enter the cafeteria and steered me towards the outside eating area where we had talked the other day. I barely noticed Matt looked up in concern as he watched Bonnie pull me away. "What's going on?" she asked the moment we were out of ear-shot from the nearest student.

I just looked at her. "Bonnie-"

"You were fine when you left my house but you walked in here today like you've seen a ghost. Elena, what happened?"

All day had seemed like I was walking in a daze from both lack of sleep and worry over Stefan. As soon as Bonnie asked that question, reality came rushing back and I blinked at her. "Stefan came back last night."

Her eyes widened. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was upstairs and heard a loud crash."

"Where was Damon?"

I looked past her to the parking lot. "He was upstairs too."

She nodded. "It was Stefan. Is he alright?"

I shook my head and shrugged. "There was blood everywhere and his clothes were torn to shreds. Someone attacked him and he barely made it home alive. He's still unconscious on the couch. Or at least he was when I left this morning. Bonnie, someone tried to kill him..." I said, my voice fading as the emotions I hadn't been able to feel earlier all tried to get out at once.

She put her hand on my arm and smiled. "Look, just finish out the day here and if he's still not awake when you get over there, call me. I'll start looking for a healing spell and we'll try it."

I looked at her in confusion. "You'd do that?"

"I told you I would help you, Elena." I nodded and hugged her. When I let go and stepped back, she asked, "Are you sure you're okay? Did something else happen?"

I wanted to tell her, but I knew it would be too much. After everything Damon had done to her as well as other people in town, including me, I wasn't so sure she would understand. I didn't even understand it myself. I shook my head and tried to smile. "No, nothing else happened."

She didn't believe me, it was written all over her face, but she nodded and smiled anyway. "Let's eat," she said and shared her lunch with me. Neither one of us ate that much.

After school I rushed to Stefan's and ran from the car into the living room. I stopped abruptly at the sight of Stefan standing there, smiling lightly. "Oh thank God," I breathed as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. I closed my eyes as I inhaled his scent. "When did you wake up?"

"About an hour or so ago," he said against my hair.

I didn't want to let him go, but I pulled back only slightly to look at him. He smiled and cupped my face. "Where's Damon?" I asked.

"He was there when I woke up and then he left. He said he had something to do that didn't concern me."

"How are you?" I asked, trying not to dwell on where Damon could have gone.

His response was to lean down and kiss me soundly. All my fears and regrets melted away as his arms fastened around me again. When he pulled his head back, he was smiling. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." He stepped back even more and reached down for my hand. Led me up to his room where we laid on our sides facing each other. "Do you remember anything?" I asked.

Sadness and regret passed through his eyes. "It's all a little hazy, but I remember being in your room a few days ago. Did I hurt you?" he questioned, holding my gaze.

I nodded once and grabbed his hand. "You weren't yourself."

"It doesn't matter, I still hurt you."

"Stefan, you're better now right?"

"Being drained and fed animal blood erased the want for human blood again," he said and looked down.

"But?"

"Maybe you're better off without me," he said as he stood up. "There's always going to be that what-if I get to caught up and can't stop myself in time. Elena, I hurt you once and I don't even remember doing it. I left you alone with Damon who hates me and I'm really surprised he didn't hurt you to get back at me."

I got off the bed, but stayed on the other side while he paced the room. "He's not as bad as you make him out to be."

He stopped to look at me then. "Elena-"

"Who do you think helped me clean you up? Who do you think saved my life after you lost control? Damon. Stefan, you asked him to protect me until you were better and he did," I said as I made my way to him again. "We can make this work. I love you," I said and brought his lips down to me.

We crashed down onto the bed and the kiss turned from sweet and gentle to passionate in seconds. For a split second, I realized it wasn't the same intense passion as my kisses with Damon had been. I shoved the thought away and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. His hands slid up my sides from beneath my shirt and when I opened my eyes I saw Damon hovering over me where Stefan should have been. I pulled back and pushed his head away from mine. Frightened, I slid out from underneath him and headed for the door. "Elena?" he called out from me.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," I said and made a mad dash for my car. I drove home without thinking about my destination before I got there. Thankfully no one was home as I hurried to my room and sat on the bed. My room looked strange after being gone for a few days and I felt my heart tighten as I realized I didn't belong here either.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked from my window causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

"I-"

"John gave you until tomorrow to hand Stefan over. If he sees you here, he's going to start asking questions. I thought you would be on round two right about now," he said, looking at his watch.

His tone made me look down and put my arms across my chest. "Damon..."

"You made it perfectly clear this morning; now that Stefan is back nothing else matters," he stated, anger and hurt clear in his voice. I looked at him, unable to say anything and it only hurt him more. In seconds, he was standing in front of me, holding my jaw so that I couldn't look away. "Let me make _myself_ very clear to _you_. You can't have both of us. It's already been tried and quite frankly, I'm really getting tired of being in this situation. You're with Stefan, I get that, but you could be with me Elena."

"Damon-"

"Make your choice and I'll go with it. I can pretend none of this ever happened."

He released me and I turned my back to him as I tried to get my brain in tune with his demands. "If Stefan ever found out about...about what happened between us, it would ruin him," I said lightly as I turned around, but refused to look at him.

I saw his jaw tick as he realized where I was going with this. "I'm not playing this game. Once you choose, there's no going back."

"I know, it's just-"

"Tell me that you wouldn't choose Stefan because you're afraid of what would happen to him and I'll make it easy for you."

"I love him Damon."

"What would have happened if I had met you first?" he asked, something I had been trying not to think about since Stefan had been gone.

"Well, I didn't." I stood up a little straighter and put my arms at my sides. "I've been having feelings for you, there's no point in denying that now, but do you honestly think we could be together? You don't like humans; they're just pawns in your games. I haven't even thought of being a vampire and I know that's what you would want."

He had a straight face the entire time, making me a little angry. I wanted to see some sort of reaction from him. "How are you going to feel in five years if you're still with Stefan and people think he's a teenager? What about in ten when it's too late to turn you so everyone will stop asking questions?" he asked. Again, more questions I had been avoiding the answers to.

"How do I know that you're not going to drop me the minute something better comes along? What if you find Katherine and-" I stopped from the look of defeat in his eyes as he realized I was about to make my choice. "Stefan loves me for my mortality. He's not trying to change me, he's-"

"Keeping you back from reaching your full potential," he said bitterly and moved towards the window. "You've made your choice. Remember that," he said and then he was gone. My head was pounding and I felt sick to my stomach. I had chosen Stefan, whom I loved and had always loved. Why did I feel like I made the wrong choice?

I didn't have time to dwell on it before my door opened to Uncle John. I hadn't heard a car or the door open downstairs. How much had he heard? "You're home."

"Good observation," I said in a flat voice.

"Any thoughts on my offer?" he asked.

"To hand over Stefan?" I asked, anger winning out over the other overwhelming emotions of the night. Right now I was angry at Damon for making me choose and the next sentence came out of my mouth before I could think about it. "Go ahead and add my name to that list. Stefan has done nothing but help protect this town from the vampires that want to destroy it. If you had any brains at all, you would see that. Get out, no one wants you here," I demanded and shoved him out the door.

"Elena?"

"What?" I growled.

"You can't undo this."

"I know," I said and slammed the door in his face. _Oh God, what have I just done?_ I thought as I sat down on the bed and wiped away silent tears.

**A/N: don't worry, this is not the ending of my Delena plans. Much more to come :)**


	10. Chapter 10

TEN

I woke up to a sudden crash. Not a loud one, but enough to be frightened awake. I realized it was only my phone falling off the nightstand because I was getting an incoming message. I picked it up and wasn't all that surprised to see seven unread messages; all from Bonnie. The last one made me feel really guilty for having forgotten to call her like I said I was going to. It read:_ Elena, you're not at school and neither is Stefan. You haven't called or picked up your phone. I called Stefan but he said you just left. Please call me the minute you can._

I thought about my reply before I started typing. _Bonnie, I'm really sorry I didn't call. As you know, Stefan's awake...something just spooked me and I came home. Then I had a run-in with Uncle John. I'm fine, I promise, I just fell asleep extremely early._

Just as I stood up, the phone went off again. _I'm so glad that you're okay. Now I'm going to curse you for making me worry._ I laughed at that and breathed a sigh of relief.

_I totally deserve it. I will call you later._

_You better._ I didn't reply to that one as I gathered fresh clothes, disappointed that all my favorite garments were sitting in Stefan's room, and headed to the bathroom to take a fast shower. When I came downstairs fully ready for the day, I was surprised to see Jenna reading and drinking coffee at the island.

"What are you doing home?" I asked as I sat next to her.

"Funny, I was going to ask you that," she replied as she set down her book and turned to face me. "I noticed you were still sleeping when I got up so I cancelled my meetings just in case you were sick."

I knew where she was going with this and I didn't want to lie anymore so I decided on half truths. "Stefan wasn't really sick."

"That much I figured," she said and took a drink of her coffee. "If he was that sick, he would have seen a doctor and you wouldn't have been over there."

"He left."

Her brow arched. "Left?"

"We had an argument last week and it escalated. He just said he needed time apart and left."

"But he was there for the competition."

"Damon told him to come back because it was important to me. He tried, but we fought again and he left."

She considered it for a moment not sure if she believed what I was saying or not. "Then why were you over there if Stefan was gone?"

"We didn't exactly know where he ran off to and I was just clinging to Damon until he came back. I didn't like the way we left things and I wanted to be there when he came back again."

"Has he come back yet?"

"Yesterday."

Now she was surprised. "And you're not over there?"

"We talked for awhile, but we're going to start over and take it slow."

"What was the fight about?"

Of course she was going to ask that. I hadn't had time to think about that part. "His ex," I said. "He kept comparing me to her. When he came back, he apologized."

"Ah, the ex is never a good topic for couples."

I shook my head in agreement. It was almost noon; too late to go to school now. "Did you cancel all your plans?" I asked.

She nodded, "I figured you could use some female company on your day of ditching school." She grinned and I smiled back at her. "Well, want to grab some early lunch, go see a movie, do some shopping?"

"Really?"

"It's not like you play hooky very often."

"And when I do, I get spoiled."

She stood up and shook her head, laughing the entire time. "Don't make a habit of it. Come on, I'm starving."

We stopped at the Grill and I froze as we walked in. Damon was sitting at the bar, laughing at the barely legal girl who was draped all over him. There were several shot glasses in front of them. I saw him stiffen, a sign that he had known the moment I had stepped into the restaurant. I followed Jenna to a table and tried with every fiber of my being to not look at his direction. "Thank you again for being so understanding about everything," I said, burying my face in the menu.

"You're almost eighteen, I think you can handle yourself," she said and smiled as she put her hand over mine. "I'll always be there if you need me, but you never have to tell me anything you don't want to." I smiled back at her and then the waiter came to take our orders. Jenna was looking over at Damon. "Is he alright? It's a little early to be drinking."

"He's fine," I muttered as a sultry laugh rang through the room. I refrained from looking in his direction and was careful what I said to Jenna. I knew he was listening.

I listened to Jenna talk about her clients, about the few times she had seen Alaric, her dislike for Uncle John, and whatever else came to her mind by the time we were done with lunch. She paid and while she went to the bathroom, I went to the bar. The girl had left a little while ago. I sat down next to him and he downed another glass. "What?"

"It's way too early to be drinking."

"How would you know?" he chided. "It's not like my liver won't repair itself." He looked at me then and I felt my stomach drop and my chest tighten. The last time he had been this way was when he found out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb. I felt guilty because this time it was me who had put him in this state. I was just as bad as she was. "What are you doing here any way? Don't you have school?"

"I took the day off."

He smirked, seeming like his old self for a moment. The bartender refilled his drink one last time and he tossed it back before standing up. "Enjoy," he said and walked away from me. I followed him outside and he pushed me up against the wall. "You made your choice Elena. You don't get to care about me," he said harshly.

I looked up at him, my shoulders a little sore from both his grip and the impact with the wall. "Maybe if you hadn't forced me to make a decision in five minutes..." I started and shoved him back, unable to finish the sentence.

"Katherine had months to choose and look where we are now," he grumbled with his hands clenched at his sides.

Jenna came out of the Grill and looked to us, said nothing and waited at the car for me. "I'm not Katherine," I replied, his eyes changing from angry and bitter to confused and hopeful. My smirk was barely there as I left him standing there.

"Everything okay?" she asked as I slid into the passenger seat, glancing in the side mirror to where Damon was still staring after me.

"Fine, he was just wondering why I wasn't in school."

She smiled. "Now, movie or shopping?"

"You choose," I said and relaxed against the seat. When I looked in the mirror again, he was gone.

It was five o'clock before we came home complete with shopping bags full of clothes and accessories. I went upstairs to call Bonnie. She answered right away. "Thanks for letting me know you're alive."

"You're welcome," I replied. "Again, I'm really sorry about yesterday."

"Stefan was awake and you left. I don't understand."

"Was he in school today?"

"Yes. For the record, you owe me. All day he was asking about you and Damon."

I froze. "What did you say?"

"Just that you were pretty much living there, waiting for him to come back. Other than that, you didn't say anything," she said and said something to her mother. "Look, I have to go but you need to go over there and talk to him. He's really worried about you."

"Thank you."

"Uh huh," she said and I knew she was grinning. "See you later."

I put the things I had bought away in my closet before grabbing my purse and going downstairs again. "Thanks again for the day Aunt Jenna," I said and hugged her.

"I take it you're going over there?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I need to make this right," I said and headed out to my car. I called Stefan as I slid behind the wheel.

"Hello."

"I'm so sorry about last night. Really, I'm okay. Mind if I come over?"

"You're always welcome here," he said and it sent a pang of guilt through me again. "See you in a few."

When I got to his house, he was waiting on the porch for me. It was strange, usually I just let myself in. "Why are you out here?"

He jerked his thumb behind him to the door. "Damon's in there. I don't know what happened to him, but he's being exceptionally rude to me. I know he doesn't like the fact that I went off the deep end for a few days, but it wasn't like I asked him to do anything other than protect you."

I smiled at that as I cupped his face. "Apparently it wasn't an easy task."

He grinned and grabbed my hand. "It's not a pleasant sight in there."

"Can't be any worse than last time," I mumbled before letting him lead me into the house.

There was loud music coming from one of the stereos. Damon was standing in a ring of four girls dancing around him. There weren't any bite marks on them that I could see and the stench of alcohol filled my nose. "Ah Saint Stefan and his angel!" he said over the music as he made his way over to us.

Stefan tightened his grip on my hand and I squeezed back in reassurance that I would be fine. "Come on," he said to me, ignoring his brother. His mouth was tight as he refrained from saying anything.

Damon's eyes flashed as I looked at him over my shoulder. He smiled; his eyes still haunted as we walked to the stairs. "Careful with her Stefan, she's a little fragile!" he called after us and turned the music up a little.

Once we were in Stefan's room, the beat of the music was just a dull background noise. Stefan held up my hand with his ring on it. We were laying in his bed with our backs against the headboard, our bodies curled towards one another. "Has Damon explained to you what's been going on since you disappeared?"

"No. This is the first time I've seen him since I woke up on the couch. I assumed he was waiting for you to come over so that you could both explain, but..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged.

"Well, he's not exactly in the best mood, so I'll tell you. He can fill in any loose ends later," I said and told him what he had missed since the competition last Saturday. Leaving out a few details here and there.

When I was done, he was still playing with my ring. "How are your senses?"

I pulled the ring off and handed it to him. "They're back to normal."

He curled my fingers around the ring and brought my knuckles to his lips. "Keep it. If your uncle really is out to get you, you may need it. It looks better on you anyway," he said before kissing my lips softly. He pulled back a little as the music from downstairs got a little louder. "Was he this way the entire time?"

"No," I said and tried not to give anything away. "He was this way as of today."

He nodded. "I just don't understand that he went through all this trouble because he didn't want to get us found out and now he's doing what he did after he found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb." He sighed and pulled me closer. "I'll try talking to him later."

I smiled lightly as he stroked my face with his index finger. "I hope he's alright."

"Whatever it is, he'll get over it. He always does," he assured me as we scooted down onto the bed and he loomed over me. I didn't say anything as he kissed me deeply; I chose to believe him for now as I gave into passion and comfort from Stefan's arms. It was the only thing that felt familiar and safe at the moment.

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night in Stefan's bed all by myself. "Stefan?" I called out quietly, afraid that I had been dreaming and he really hadn't come back. I felt his side of the bed and came in contact with a piece of paper. I turned on the light from the nightstand and read Stefan's note. _Elena, I needed to feed. I'll be back soon._ I breathed a sigh of relief as I dressed in lounging pants and a shirt before heading downstairs for some water.

"Oh good, you're still here," Damon said sarcastically from the living room. It made me jump because I hadn't seen him sitting there.

"Where else would I be?" I returned and immediately regretted it. He was drinking again and I made my way over to the chair he was sitting in. I stood in front of it and crossed my arms. I grabbed the glass from his hand and finished it before setting it down on the table. Thankfully it wasn't blood because I didn't look before I drank. "You know what, I've had it with your little brooding attitude."

"You like it when Stefan does it."

I clenched my hands in fists down at my side. "You're the one who made me choose. You don't get to be angry. You don't get to act out because you're feeling sorry for yourself. If I had picked you, you would be gloating in Stefan's face right about now. And that, Damon, is exactly why I didn't choose you."

I turned around, but he caught my wrist and when I turned around he was standing in front of me. "What did you mean earlier when you said you weren't Katherine?"

"What I meant was, I'm not indecisive. I know what the right choice is, but I need longer than five minutes to make sure it's the right one. You, on the other hand, need to drop this act of yours. Stefan keeps asking questions and if either one of you mentions making me choose again, I will walk away from you both."

He smirked, the old Damon look back in his eye. "See, you can be evil. Well played," he said and released his hold on my wrist.

I thought about stepping back but decided against it. "Promise me that you'll stop acting this way and I'll start thinking more seriously."

"You would leave Stefan?" he asked, both doubtful and hopeful at the same time.

"I need to know that you will never try to change me to be something I'm not."

He caught my chin in a firm yet soft grasp. "I told you several times before, I will never lie to you. I am what I am and I too will not change for anyone."

I nodded and took a step back at that moment. "I'm just asking you to wait," I said as I retreated to the kitchen.

He said nothing until I was halfway up the stairs. "Elena?" he said softly. I stopped and turned to see him in the dimly lit room. "I will not wait forever."


	11. Chapter 11

ELEVEN

For five days everything felt normal. I was back to hanging out with my friends on occasion and juggling time between Stefan's and home. It was almost as if Stefan had never disappeared. The only thing that reminded me he had was every time I saw Damon. However, that was a rare occasion because he was never home and it left me feeling a little strange; almost hurt, but not quite. Even while everything was returning back to normal, there was still the fact that the John was going before the Council to tell them about Damon and Stefan. We had no idea when and every time Damon stayed out, both Stefan and I became worried.

And I was still being watched. I didn't need my heightened senses to know that anymore. The only time I didn't feel eyes on my back was when I was with Stefan. It was as if whoever was watching wasn't interested in anything I had to do where he was concerned. I hadn't voiced this to anyone yet but I made sure that I was home before dark and I tried not to go anywhere by myself.

Wednesday night, Jenna decided that she wanted me home for dinner and I didn't argue with her. When I came down to eat, I froze on the last step as Uncle John opened the door and let himself in. "Elena," he said, acknowledging my presence.

"Uncle," I said cautiously.

He looked at my hand that was resting on the banister and scowled at the ring. I didn't move and tried my hardest not to smile. "How exactly is your boyfriend going to school if you have his ring?"

"Why do you care?" I asked, wondering why no one had been asking Stefan about Katherine's ring that he had been wearing since he broke out of the cell.

He just stared at me before heading to the kitchen. I took a deep breath and shook off my nerves before stepping off the stairs. Before I could go any further, the doorbell rang. "Elena? Will you get that?" Jenna called and I opened the door to Damon.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"I was invited," he said and waved to Jenna as she came down the hall.

"I invited both of you. Where's Stefan?" she asked, looking past his shoulder.

"Only because I answered the phone," he teased and came inside so I could shut the door. "Stefan is busy burying his nose in a textbook. He sends his apologies," he said to her as she went back to the kitchen. "Ah, John. What a pleasant surprise."

"Where is Stefan?" I asked in a low voice as we stayed by the door.

"He said he didn't want to be here in case John showed up."

"Why? Like your being here is going to help any?"

He gave me a look that said I should know this already. "John is mostly after him. He was the cause of the most recent attacks. I agree with Stefan, it was probably best to stay away. John's probably got a wooden stake in his boot, waiting for a chance to be alone with me," he said with a grin as he looked at me. "And I'm sure he's not the only one."

I rolled my eyes, trying to squash all of those feelings and took two steps towards the kitchen. "You _agree_ with Stefan?" I asked and whirled around to face him. "When have you been home to talk to him?"

His face was in a frown, but his eyes were glinting with satisfaction. "I decided to give you some space. Like you said, you can't choose if you're being crowded."

I was about to say something else when Jenna called us into the kitchen. We set the table and then sat down. Jeremy was not very happy about being here and he was letting everyone know it by not talking and glaring at Damon. It scared me a little that I had forgotten about Vickie and that he was trying to prove that she was murdered, not high when she died. Dinner was filled with some conversation and I was surprised that John stayed for any of it. Then again, I figured Damon was right and there was a stake in his boot. A phone began to ring and John dug his out of his jeans. He looked at the number and excused himself. A few moments later, he came back in. "Dinner was lovely, but I have to run."

"Bye," Jenna said as she got up and started clearing the table. Jeremy had practically inhaled his dinner about ten minutes ago and took off up to his room.

Damon stood and stopped her. "You cooked, Elena and I will clean."

"We will?" I asked.

She laughed and shook her head. "Sounds good to me. Let me know when you're done and you can try my dessert."

"Please tell me you didn't make cheesecake again," I said as I started picking up dishes.

"It won't be as disastrous as last time. I promise," she said before walking to her office to finish some of her paperwork.

"You don't have to do this," I said as he collected plates and helped me carry them to the kitchen.

He shrugged, "I don't mind." I narrowed my eyes as he started to rinse things off in the sink. He opened the dish washer and started loading it. I couldn't do anything but gape at him in awe. "Don't get me wrong, I love the attention, but you could help me instead of staring at me."

I cleared my throat, bringing me out of whatever daze I was in as I came to stand next to him and helped him finish cleaning. "I never asked you to give me space."

"I gave it to you anyway," he said in a tone that said he didn't want to talk about it.

I ignored him. "I don't know how to tell him and I-"

"Elena, let's not talk about this right now," he said tightly. A chill ran down my spine as I realized he didn't want to say anything in front of anyone else. Which meant there was something else going on that I didn't know about.

I nodded and we finished the clean-up in silence. As we finished the last dish, Jenna came in and smiled widely. "You are just amazing. Thank you," she said to Damon.

"I'm going to get Jeremy," I said as she opened the fridge and brought out dessert. I headed upstairs and froze at the sight of my door open. I always closed it when I left the room. "Jeremy?" I called out lightly.

"What?" he asked as he came out of his room.

"Jenna made dessert."

"I'm full," he said and went back into his room. Before he could close the door, I noticed a journal laying on his desk. My eyes went wide in alarm as I dashed to my room and found my diary was missing. I felt sick to my stomach; I should have known. I had seen him with Anna at the competition.

When I came downstairs, Jenna was laughing softly over her glass of wine. "Jeremy's doesn't want any," I said as I slid onto the barstool and played with the piece of cheesecake on my plate. I took a few bites to make it look like I was interested, but Damon wasn't fooled. Not for a second.

"Alright, I'll clean this up," she said as the two of us retreated to my room.

"What's wrong?" he asked the moment I shut my door.

I put my iPod on the speakers that I had for it so that Jeremy couldn't hear us if he was listening. "Jeremy's been reading my diary."

"How do you know for sure?"

I moved the picture above my bed to show him the back. "This is where I keep it and it's not here. It's on his desk. He knows everything."

Before I could protest, he was out of my room and standing in front of Jeremy's door. He opened it and seized him before he could react. It only took a few minutes before he was back in my room with my diary in hand. "He doesn't remember any of the content from your diary."

"That's all you did?" I asked as I tried to take the diary from him, but he pulled it back with a grin.

"That's all I did," he assured me as he began to flip through it.

"Hey!" I snapped trying to hide my smile as I finally grabbed it from him.

"So that's where you keep it."

"Not anymore," I said and put it on my pillow for now.

His grin slowly dissolved, meaning we were about to have a serious conversation. "You still wearing that ring worries me."

"Stefan has Katherine's old one. I've been trying to give this one back, but he won't take it. Don't worry, my senses are all human now."

He nodded. "When we went to the Grill, we both were being watched."

"I still get that feeling. It's strange because it seems to only be when I'm not with Stefan." I bit my lip, not liking the fact that something else was out there. "Do you think it could be John?"

He shook his head. "I suspected as much, but whatever is watching us isn't human. I feel eyes on me, but I don't hear anything, I don't smell anything. I just feel it."

Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I sat down at the foot of my bed and put my head in my hands. "Well, if you're concerned, then it can't be anything remotely good that's about to happen." I sighed and looked up at him. "So, why didn't Stefan come?" He shrugged and started playing with knickknacks that were on the dresser. "Damon..." I said in a warning tone. "You didn't tell him did you?"

He looked at me in the mirror with a smug look on his face. "Why should I have? He's had you all to himself for the past few days. I think I earned it."

I looked down. "Telling him about my feelings for you would just make him crazy again. The last thing I want is for him to use that as an excuse to do something stupid."

I felt the bed sink beside me and I turned to look at him. He swept the hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear. "It doesn't mean I have to like it or sit around and watch."

"This is very unfair to you," I said as I laid back.

He followed my lead and grabbed my diary from my pillow. I tried to get it back but he held it with his other hand. "You want it; come and get it," he teased, shaking the book.

I shook my head with a smile and just stared up at the ceiling. "Do you know what happened to your parents?" I asked.

He stiffened for a moment before putting the diary onto the nightstand and pulling himself up so he was lounging against the headboard. "Mother was young when she passed and Father, well, he killed us so that sums him up a little."

I sat up so that I was facing him. "What was he like before the vampires happened?"

"He still didn't like me. Stefan was always the favorite," his eyes were looking past me as if reliving his human life. "Until Stefan killed him. I probably looked like an angel in that moment."

My heart skipped a beat. "_What?"_

"Oh, did Saint Stefan forget to tell you how the events unfolded after the tomb was sealed?"

"I never asked."

"Of course you didn't," he said and shook his head.

"I'm asking now," I said quietly, curious now even though I was prying.

"I remember being shot when we tried to carry Katherine away from the tomb and when I came to, Stefan and I were in a little shack by the quarry with Emily. We had the rings on and she told us we were in transition. Stefan and I had both agreed to just die rather than be the monster that Katherine was," he said and laughed bitterly. He was looking through me again, giving me the chills. "That all changed when he went to visit Father and was a little hazy on the details when he came back. All I remember was that he had taken his blood and brought me back a girl to feed from."

My mouth dropped in horror. "He was the one who turned first?"

"What, you thought I was always the bad one?" he said and grinned. "I left him after I had fed and that was it."

"That's not all of the story, but that's enough for now."

"What about your parents?" he asked.

"You're the one who knows Isobel, you tell me," I said and smiled lightly.

"Your real parents. What were they like?"

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. It seemed like a lifetime ago since they died, not recently. "Your typical parents. Grounded you when you stayed out past curfew, gave allowances for chores..."

"That's all you have to say about them?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter.

I stood up and grabbed my purse off my chair. "Come on," I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," I said and led him out to my car.

When I parked, he looked at me as if I were crazy. "The graveyard? Something is out there watching us and you take me to the graveyard?"

"Just get out," I said and he followed me to my parents' gravestone. "I come here when I need to feel safe. I haven't been here much before you both came into town, but I used to come here almost every day."

"Why bring me here?"

"I don't know. It just felt...right," I said as I put my arms around myself and looked at the marker. "I haven't even shown them to Stefan yet," I breathed.

I shivered as the slight breeze shifted to a stronger one and stilled when I felt Damon pull me to him. "Well, I feel honored," he said against my hair. I was expecting him to gloat and the fact that he didn't made me look up at him questioningly.

I didn't even know I had been crying until he cupped my face to wipe away the few tears with his thumb. Being with his was like being in a hurricane. One minute he was spiteful and arrogant and the next he was caring and sweet. I never knew which Damon I was going to see until it was too late. Here, in this moment, as his lips descended onto mine gently, I began rethinking all of my reasons of staying with Stefan. I didn't get to think long before the gentle kiss was gone and we were clinging to each other as if letting go meant the death of us. Just as I started to relax against him, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Something was wrong.

Before I could pull back to warn him, he slumped against me and I felt his fangs lengthen, catching my lips in the process. I was knocked against the marker as he staggered to the ground. My hand was black with blood as I looked at it in horror and then to Damon who was cursing and clawing at himself. Despite my uncontrollable shaking, I sank to my knees. "What happened?"

"Wooden bullets," he hissed, his face in full vampire mode. "I can't get to them." His voice was strangled and he was losing blood very fast.

I clamped down on my fear as I turned him onto his stomach and dug my fingers into his back to get the bullets. He didn't scream or lash out even though I knew it was hurting him. "That should be all of them," I said in a timid voice as I rolled him onto his back. He was struggling to breathe and I was so afraid that he was going to die on me that I did the only thing I could think of. I took the blood from my lip and spread it over my wrist before putting it in front of his mouth. He only licked the thin line of blood from my skin. "What are you doing? You need to feed!" I cried in fear of losing him.

Without saying anything, he sat up and drew me to him. It took me a second to realize that he was going for the throat instead and I tensed at the initial pain and then relaxed. He had drawn me across his lap, but I barely noticed. I felt as if I was floating on Cloud Nine. The feeling was incredibly different from sheer pleasure and I knew that there would be nothing like it. I hardly noticed that he had stopped until he used one of his fangs to slit his wrist and then offered me some of his blood. "Thank you," he whispered.

All reality came snapping back into focus as a loud thud came from a short distance away. My hand flew to my mouth at the sight of a man with his throat torn out lying not too far from Damon and I. My heart stopped and my blood turned icy as someone else entered into view. Even Damon had gone rigid all over. It was like looking in a mirror except she was smiling the smile of a cold blooded killer; her lips, chin and throat stained with blood as she stood over the dead body.

"Katherine?" I breathed.

She was back.


	12. Chapter 12

TWELVE

Damon stood up swiftly, pulling me to my feet at the same time but placing himself in front of me. I wiped his blood off my lips with the back of my hand, my head buzzing with the effects of my improved senses. Damon was watching her every move, waiting for some sort of attack. She tsked him as she nudged the body with her foot so it was laying face-up on the grass. "I would have expected this from Stefan, but not from you," she said, gesturing to me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring her statement.

"Saving your life," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're welcome by the way."

He narrowed his eyes, "You didn't save my life."

She rolled her eyes and reached down to grab something from beside the body. She tossed it to him and he saw two wooden bullets still in the chamber. "She may have given you blood, but _I_ killed the hunter."

I straightened in alarm as I tried to see who the man was but his face was turned towards Katherine. "It's not Alaric," Damon said softly to me, as if reading my thoughts.

I let out a sigh of relief as he dropped the gun and looked at Katherine again. "What are you doing here?"

She pouted. "I would have thought that you of all people would be happy to see me."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would I be happy to see you after I found out that you have over a hundred years to find me and tell me you weren't in the tomb?"

Her face hardened. "I had my reasons."

"Lucky for you, you have an eternity to explain yourself," he said casually.

"You're the one who's been watching us?" I asked, finding my voice.

She glanced my direction as if she had forgotten I was there. "I have better things to do with my time than stalk you. You're not that interesting," she said, examining her nails.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

She returned her gaze to Damon who hadn't relaxed an ounce of his tension since we had stood. "Pearl got a message to me when she came out of the tomb. She said you didn't want to know where I was," she said and pouted. I couldn't tell if she was pretending to be hurt or if she actually was.

"What did she say?" he asked.

Her lip curled and I thanked my lucky stars that we didn't have the same voice. Hers was more like a child's and she whined more than anyone I knew. "_Now_ you're interested?" she asked, balling her fists.

"Katherine," he said, as if his patience was about to reach its limit.

In the blink of an eye, it looked like she had stomped her foot. I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not. "Fine," she said harshly and crossed her arms. "She said the tomb was open and the vampires were out. She kept sending me updates, saying some attacked you and Stefan. They're very lucky you killed them before I got here. Then I got the note saying that John Gilbert was in town and going after the vampires as head of that damn Council," he said with a snarl at the last bit. "What I didn't expect to find was you with _her_." She looked at me then and the pure hatred in her eyes made me take a half-step back.

"We were just-" I started.

She snorted. "Yes, it was very clear what you were doing."

"Elena?" came another voice, making us all look in that direction. It was Stefan, standing a little bit away from us.

"Stefan," I breathed and wondered how long had he been standing there and why hadn't anyone noticed. It left me feeling very uneasy.

His eyes were glued to Katherine as he slowly walked to us and slid his hand in mine. "You're back."

She looked at our hands intertwined and then back up to Damon. She had a sly smile on her face. "Some things never change."

Stefan tightened his grip as he looked from her to Damon. "I'm taking her home," he said and started to pull me away.

"You're not even going to say hello?" Katherine called after us, that anger back in her voice. She was one of those girls who demanded the spotlight and when it wasn't shining on her, she did anything to get it.

He stopped and turned back to her. "Hello," he said and then led me to my car. I threw one last glance over my shoulder and saw Damon, torn between going after me and staying with Katherine. I told myself he was better off with her; that she had always been his first choice. Even then, it sounded like a lie.

"How did you know where we were?" I asked as he drove to his house.

"I was feeding and I heard people talking. When I was done feeding I realized who it was," he said, looking straight ahead. I didn't want to ask exactly when he came to listen to us, I was afraid that he had seen Damon and I before the hunter had shot him in the back. I studied Stefan as we drove in silence. There was something different about him and I had been too preoccupied with Damon to notice it since he came back. Whatever it was, it wasn't making me feel safe.

"Are you okay?" I asked when he had parked. "Now that she's back."

He shrugged, "Yes, I loved her, but when I found out that she was seeing Damon too, I realized that I would never be good enough for her. She would choose him in the end."

"But she didn't."

He looked at me. "She didn't have time to choose," was all he said before he got out and I followed him up to his room.

I shut the door behind me and crossed my arms over my chest. "So what does this mean for us? Are you going to end things with me so that you can wait for her to decide and then if she picks Damon you'll consider me an option again?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head in confusion. "Elena, that's not what I want at all. Where did that come from?" he asked, taking a few steps closer to me.

_Because that's what Damon is doing_, I thought bitterly and was startled by that feeling. "I don't know."

He cupped my face and smiled down at me. "I don't want her anymore. We were never a good match and it's not something in my life that I would like to revisit. I've already found the one I want to be with forever."

Forever. That word hung in the air. "Stefan-"

He cut me off as I focused his gaze on my lips and throat. "What happened to you?" he asked, tipping my head to the side.

I tensed, expecting him to lose control at any moment, but he didn't. "Damon was shot with wooden bullets before Katherine killed the hunter," I explained mentally relieved that he hadn't seen anything before Katherine arrived. "He lost a lot of blood," I said quietly, letting him connect the dots.

He only nodded and wiped a few flakes of blood from my lips, Katherine's ring on his finger caught the light from the window, making me close my sensitive eyes momentarily. He pulled me to him and stroked my hair. "Thank you for saving him," he whispered.

I tightened my hold on him, the reality of the situation setting in. "Her being here isn't good," I breathed.

I felt him shake his head. "No, it's not."

Since that night I had seen little of Damon and none of Katherine. It was for the best considering I didn't know what to say to him and I really didn't want to know anything about Katherine. It was now Monday and I promised Matt that Stefan and I would hang out with him, Caroline, and Bonnie at the Grill. Stefan had come to my house after school. As we were walking to the door, Jenna was coming out. "Oh, hey," she said. "I'm running late, but will you be home for dinner?"

"No, we're going to the Grill," I answered.

"Okay, have fun, be safe," she said and dashed off to her car.

"She must be running late," I said as we went inside and sat down on the couch to watch a movie to pass the time.

A few hours later, we met the others at the Grill. I knew Caroline was still not happy about the fact that I didn't show up the last time, but that was only because she held grudges forever. Matt, on the other hand, had forgiven me. Bonnie waved us over to the pool table they were at. "Glad you made it," she said as she hugged me.

"I'm glad you invited me again," I replied looking at Caroline. "I'm really sorry about that."

"You're here now aren't you?" she said, her way of forgiving me for the moment. Matt grinned and mouthed his thanks.

"Have you eaten yet?" Matt asked as Caroline and Bonnie finished the game that they had already started.

"No, we were going to grab something here."

"Good, us too. As soon as they're finished, we'll get a table."

I shook my head as I laughed. "You know that you're allowed to go home on your day off? Or at the very least spend it outside the restaurant."

He grinned as Caroline shouted in excitement, making us all jump. "I won!"

"That's a first," Bonnie said winking at Matt. "Let's eat."

The evening was going by smoothly and it felt just like old times. We had eaten and played a few games before my reality check came. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket and fished it out as I watched Stefan take aim. I was sitting at the table with Bonnie since Caroline and Matt were playing on a team. My heart skipped a beat as I saw a message from Damon displayed on the screen. _What are you doing?_

_ At the Grill with friends. Why?_

His reply took a few seconds longer than normal. _I'm at the motel a few blocks away. Room 24. I need you to come here as soon as possible._

_ Seriously? No way am I-_ I stopped in the middle of the message as another one came though. I deleted my reply and opened the new message.

_It's important. I wouldn't ask you here if it weren't._

I stared at the new message for a few seconds before I responded. _I'll be there in an hour or so._

"Elena?" Bonnie asked in a low voice.

"Bathroom?" I asked as I put my phone in my pocket. She nodded and we excused ourselves. Caroline was a little hurt that she was invited to join us, but I couldn't worry about it at the moment. I turned on the faucets when I saw no one else was in the bathroom and talked in a low voice. "I have to tell you something."

"I'm not going to like this much am I?" she asked, keeping her voice low as well.

I told her what had happened Wednesday night. All of it, even the kiss with Damon. I ended with the fact that I didn't trust Stefan anymore and there was definitely something he wasn't telling me. "I keep asking where he went for those few days he was gone, but he just shakes his head and changes the subject."

"I'm still confused as to why Katherine's back."

"Me too. It scares me that she hasn't been seen around town. She's not the type to lay low," I said.

"Are you going to see Damon then?"

I nodded. "For him to want to meet out of earshot from anyone else means something is definitely wrong. I'm telling you all of this so that you know. I'm asking you to not trust anything unless it comes from me or Damon."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't trust Stefan?"

"I want to, but there's something off about him."

She nodded and put her hand on my shoulder. "Does he know anything about you and Damon?"

I shook my head, but kept my eyes on the floor. "No, but if he does, he's keeping it to himself."

"Come on, we'll finish up and then you can get out of here," she said as she shut off the faucets and we returned.

Caroline was putting on her coat when we came back. "I think we've all played enough for one night. Ready?" Matt asked Bonnie.

"Elena's going to give me a ride home. We have to discuss prom," she said and I shot her a look. I wasn't even thinking about that right now.

She shrugged and Caroline scowled. She had never liked the fact that Bonnie and I had always been closer as friends. I did feel bad for her and one day, I would explain everything to her just like I was going to explain to Matt. "Thanks for inviting us," I said as they left.

"I'll drop Stefan off first, then we can talk," I said and led them out to my car. Stefan generously gave up the front seat for Bonnie. I was tense the whole ride to his house with him behind me. I hated myself for feeling this way around him for no justifiable reason other than the hairs at the back of my neck standing up.

I left the car with Bonnie still in the passenger seat as I said good-bye to Stefan at his door. "Tonight was good. It felt normal," he said as he put his arms around me. "Are you alright? You've been acting strange, almost jumpy, all day."

I nodded and smiled up at him. "It just dawned on me this morning that senior year is almost over and it's way different than I had ever imagined it would be."

He kissed me briefly before pulling away. "You never imagined vampires in your senior year?" he teased.

I smiled and shook my head. "Night Stefan."

"Night."

When I got back to the car, I drove to Bonnie's. "Do you want me to go with you to see Damon?"

"Thank you, but no. I'll be fine. I'll call you later if that's alright or I can tell you tomorrow."

"Call me if it's of dire importance. If not I can wait until tomorrow," she said as I pulled into her driveway.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked before she got out.

"Sure."

"You hate Damon for obvious reasons, but you didn't get angry when I told you about...about us. Why?"

"It's the way you talk about him. Sure, he's dangerous and a monster in his own way, but if someone like you can trust him, then there must be something good in there. Deep, deep down. That doesn't mean I'm going to warm up to him any time soon though."

"Understandable."

"Be careful," she said and I waited until she was safely inside before I headed to the motel and parked on the backside of the building so that my car wasn't visible from the road.

I barely knocked on the door before it opened and Damon pulled me inside, locking the door behind him. "Alright, I'm here. What's going on?"

"Sheriff Forbes informed me that they've been calling hunters to track us. The fact that she told means your uncle hasn't told her about Stefan and I yet. I suspect it's because other plans for us."

"So did you ever find out why Katherine came back?" I asked.

He hesitated; something he never did. My heart fluttered, knowing I was not going to like the answer one bit. "She says it's Pearl and I asked her about yesterday. She confirms writing to her, but she never said anything about bringing Katherine to town. Even she understands that's not a good idea."

"Well, you've been with her since she came back, has she said anything?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.

He took a step forward and reached for my hand. "She avoids the question with some dramatic overreaction every time."

"And?"

"Has Stefan ever mentioned where he was for that week he was gone?"

"No," I breathed to both answer the question he said and in protest to his unspoken one. "Why would Stefan bring Katherine back?" My heart was beating a mile a minute. "It makes no sense."

"How did he find you in the graveyard?"

"He said he was feeding," I said, wracking my brain for anything I had missed.

"Elena," he said softly and cupped my face. "Let's face it; Stefan knows. He knows everything."

**A/N: I've never written Katherine's character before so let me know how you felt about it please :) everything will be explained in the next couple chapter I promise.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know it's a short one, but I think the ending makes up for it ;).**

THIRTEEN

I stared at him, angry that he could even suggest that. Then again, I knew it was true. "If he knows, he would have asked me about it."

He shook his head. "The one girl he goes for in a hundred and fifty years and she's secretly seeing me on the side. I would have done the same thing."

"How do you know all of this? Did Katherine tell you?"

"Of course not. She may act like a child, but she's not stupid. She's getting something out of this too. I'm assuming Stefan told you when he stumbled across us right?"

"He just said he heard voices but he wasn't really clear on when he'd arrived."

"Then let me ask you this, when we first saw her, you saw that gleam in her eyes at the fact that she had caught us off guard. The fact that she was gloating over the shock both of us got by seeing her."

I nodded slightly. "I don't-"

"Notice how Stefan barely reacted when he saw her? He acted as though he didn't care and we both know that's not true. She didn't even look surprised to see him there. She must have heard him approach. She's older than I am and her senses are sharper. There is no way she didn't know he was there."

"It doesn't mean she cared," I said lightly, tears threatening to spill. "You said there was no way he could see through the bars."

"I didn't say he couldn't hear what was going on." My mouth dropped as I stared at him. "You asked if he saw anything, not if he had heard."

"That would have been nice to know." I shook my head and put my hands on my hips. "If he was contacting her and conspiring with her, then why did he come back the way he did?"

His jaw tightened. "There was another vampire's blood mixed in with his. It was very strong which meant it was fresh."

"So he was attacked."

"Not necessarily."

"You really think that he would have Katherine attack him just so he could come back that way? That's ridiculous," I said and began to pace. "He wouldn't do that to himself."

"The injuries were just shallow enough to not be fatal which meant someone had arranged it to look like he was dying, but he would have been alright had he not come back."

"Why would he do that?"

"He had to have some way for you to believe that he was living off of Bambi blood."

As if my heart could take the surprises it kept getting. "What?"

"Oh come on Elena. You didn't really think that he was feeding from animals again did you? He wouldn't have recovered that fast if he had been."

"He said-"

"He lied," Damon interrupted with finality.

"Then so did you. You told me that you were giving him animal blood."

"I did," he assured me. "It was when I got home later that night, before I went to see you, I found some blood bags missing."

"You count them?"

"If I hadn't, I would never have been able to piece this together."

I shook my head and started playing with the necklace at my throat. I took a deep breath as I watched him pour me a drink for the mini bar and hand it to me. He was trying to calm me down and I finished off the glass in one swift motion before handing it back to him. "Okay. Let's say he did call Katherine back. Let's say he does know about...us. Why would he do that?"

"I have a theory."

"That's why I asked," I muttered and he smirked.

"Back when we were still human, I fell in love with Katherine for who she was; for _what_ she was. Stefan fell in love with her because he was infatuated with her. She didn't need to compel me to drink for her or to let her drink from me. He was jealous of the fact that we were meant to be together, not them. Then we come here a hundred and fifty years later and he finds you. The complete opposite of Katherine and a perfect match for him. I always hated the fact that Katherine continued her relationship with him despite the fact that he was afraid. It makes sense now. He was her balance and to her, control was everything. Stefan isn't meant to be the strong one and he knows it. Katherine wanted someone weak, someone she could have do her bidding," he said and reached out to stroke my cheek. "You, on the other hand, are strong. You want someone who is just as strong; someone who can be your equal in stability."

"What exactly are you saying?" I asked slowly, taking in everything that he had said word-for-word.

"I'm saying that I was wrong about Katherine. I was in love with the idea of her and it made me into the vampire that I am. I was once in love with Katherine and in a way I do love her; but only because she led me to you."

For the entire time I had known him, I had never imagined that he would ever be this sincere about anything. It made my heart soar with bittersweet emotions. Instead of saying anything I stepped closer to him and pulled his lips down onto mine. He took over from there and the resulting kiss was full of passion that had been forced to remain dormant since I had first met him. His hands cupped the back of my head as if he were afraid I was about to stop at any moment.

I had no intention of going anywhere.

I groaned slightly as he pushed my back up against the wall. My hands drifted down the front of his chest and stopped at the hem of his shirt. I was surprised that my fingers weren't trembling as I began to undo the buttons and then helped him shrug off the shirt, letting it fall to the ground. I explored the hard, well defined muscles under smooth porcelain skin before he pulled me away from the wall and started moving to one of the beds. Somewhere during that short distance, I had lost my shirt, barely seeing it land on the floor before my head was on top of a pillow. He looked down at me with a hunter's grin on his face, satisfaction blazing in his eyes before he recaptured my lips. I reached down and undid his belt as he nuzzled my neck, planting feather light kisses every so often. Before long, we were both fully undressed and he kissed me soundlessly before sliding into me.

Yes, it was going to be a long night; but one that would never have been long enough for either of us.


	14. Chapter 14

It took me a few moments to realize where I was when I woke up the next morning. The soft glow of the early morning sun lit up the curtains, but didn't come into the room. I lay on my side, propping my head on my arm and looked at Damon. He was on his back, deeply asleep, his face pointed towards the ceiling. I couldn't help but notice the smirk that plastered his face even though he slept. I lightly traced his cheekbones and the curve of his jaw. As my wrist slid over his lips, his jaw opened and sought the two small punctures that were there from last night. My eyes closed part way at the momentary ecstasy that ended too soon as he stopped and loomed over me. "Good morning," he breathed. "Much better than eggs and toast," he added, making me laugh at that morning so long ago.

I kissed him gently, barely tasting my blood on his lips. "I should have known you were awake," I muttered as he bent down to nuzzle my neck.

I groaned and pulled his head up. "I have to get ready for school."

He rolled off of me and lay on his side. "You're serious?"

I stood up, gathering my clothes as I went. "I still need to graduate. Then I can worry about real life later," I said and slipped into the bathroom. Inside, there was one of my favorite outfits, complete with undergarments neatly folded on the counter. I opened the door and poked my head out. "Why did you bring clothes if we were just going to talk?"

He grinned, "I may have had a hidden agenda."

I shook my head with a laugh and took a fast shower. When I came out, Damon was dressed in the same clothes from yesterday. "Okay, serious question."

"I'm listening."

"When I see Stefan, how am I supposed to act?"

"Be as normal as you possibly can. Even when you're around me and Katherine." I stiffened at that, a jealous pang coursing through me. Then again, I knew he felt the same way when he saw me with Stefan. "They think they're going to catch us off guard, but we're going to be ready for them. Just remember, when she's around, I'm going to play my part. Not everything I say is true. Understand."

"Yes."

He kissed me lightly. "Good."

His arms wrapped around me and I relaxed into him. "I don't want to go."

"You're the one who wanted to go to school," he chided as he stepped back to open the door for me.

He walked with me to my car and waited until I was on the road before disappearing. When I got to school, I was late to my first class. I was very grateful for the fact that Damon had chosen a long sleeved shirt to hide the bite marks on my wrist. Even though they had healed from the blood I'd taken from him before going to sleep, they were still slightly visible. Especially the ones he had reopened for "breakfast."

Walking from class to class felt like a dream; everything was very surreal and I was never sure if my feet ever hit the ground. Yet, I always reached my destination. Before my third class, I was startled back to reality when Bonnie pulled me into the nearest bathroom and just looked at me. "What's gotten into you?"

I smiled at that statement, resisting the urge to say something Damon-esque. "Bonnie-"

"Are you aware of the fact that you're still with Stefan and you obviously just slept with Damon?"

"How did-"

"You're practically glowing, that's how I know. And the fact that you don't have any of your school things. You're aura's a different color than it normally is."

"You can read aura's?"

She nodded, "I've been practicing a little, it's not hard to learn. Don't change the subject, Elena."

I smiled lightly. "I had to try. Look, I found out a lot of things that I think you should know, but we can't talk here."

"My house?" she asked. "Dad drove me to school so you can take me home."

"Deal," I said and we walked out of the bathroom. Both of us stopped dead at the sight of Stefan leaning against the opposite wall. "Hey," I said, cautiously approaching him. Bonnie waved and dashed off to class. The bell had already rang, but at the moment, school did not matter.

He took my hands and smiled at me. "I was worried about you."

"You were?"

"You didn't call to tell me you made it home," he said and pulled me to him. "I hate to be the over protective type, but with Katherine in town, I would like to know where you are when you're not with me."

I pulled back and nodded. "That sounds fair. Look, I can't be late for this class. I'll see you at lunch?" I asked and kissed him hastily on the cheek before dashing off to class.

Lunch came and went and before I knew it, it was the last class of the day. When the final bell rang, I stood up, but Alaric called me back. "Elena, will you stay for a moment?"

"Stefan, will you tell Bonnie to wait for me? I'll be out in a minute," I said and he nodded before leaving the room. "Yes Mr. Saltzman?"

He had been watching Stefan the whole time. "Is he okay?"

"He's still struggling, but he's much better," I said with a forced smile as I reached around for a piece of paper and a pen. I scribbled _Katherine's back_ on it and handed it to him. I put my finger to my lips and looked out at the hall, shaking my head. "I'll explain later," I said and he nodded as I left. Bonnie and Stefan were waiting at my car for me. Bonnie was looking extremely uncomfortable and I couldn't blame her. "Bonnie and I are working on our science project. I'll call you when we're done and go from there," I said to him.

He nodded and kissed me briefly. "I love you," he whispered against my lips.

I felt incredibly guilty at that as he started to walk away. "You too," I muttered and unlocked the car for Bonnie.

When we were at her house, alone in her room, I told her everything that Damon and I had discussed last night. After I had finished talking, she was staring at me with eyes full of disbelief; probably the same way I had been looking at Damon when he had told me this. She shook her head as she stood up. "He wouldn't. Stefan? I would have expected his from Damon, but never from Stefan."

"I know, that's how I felt," I said quietly, keeping my eyes glued to the comforter I was playing with absentmindedly.

"If it's true, then I owe Damon one hell of an apology."

I smiled as I looked up at her. "You don't owe him anything. Everything he did to you had nothing to do with this new situation." I laid back and hugged a pillow as I stared at the ceiling. "I want to ask him why he just couldn't talk to me about this instead of running to Katherine."

"Probably not the best idea."

"Not anymore."

"To be fair, you could have told him when he came back and been up front about it."

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I've been a horrible girlfriend."

She pulled me to my feet. "That's it, we're going out for dinner for a girl's night."

"Should we invite Caroline? I feel bad about the way I've been blowing her off."

"You can't help that, but sure, we can invite her," she said and pulled out her phone to call Caroline. While she worked on convincing her to come with us, I stared at my phone debating on whether or not it would be a bad thing to try to contact Damon. He had been texting me knowing I was with Stefan. Then again, Katherine was a bit more terrifying and I decided not to. "Earth to Elena," Bonnie said, apparently not for the first time as she sat there with a smirk and a hand on her hip.

"What?" I asked.

"You should probably not talk about Damon in front of Caroline. I know I don't have to tell you, but I'm telling you anyway."

I was startled, having forgotten for a moment that Damon had used her awhile back. It was the time before he and Stefan had started becoming closer. Before I became a major part in both of their lives. It made me think of all the other girls that I had seen him with since being in town and the ones I had known about beforehand from Stefan or when Damon was in a bragging sort of mood. I frowned at the thought and pushed it away. There were some things that we needed to talk about before we went any further. "Right, thank you."

"She's meeting us at the Grill in a half hour."

"Great," I said as we retouched our make-up before heading out. When we got there, Caroline was pulling into the spot next to us. "Hey," I said and waved briefly.

"Why do we need a girl's night? We just hung out yesterday," she said, crossing her arms and staring at us both. She didn't know what was going on anymore and I felt sorry for her.

"Yes, but we weren't being fair to you," I said and stepped forward. "Look, there are some things going on that I can't talk about, but I want you to know that neither of us is trying to cut you out. We're a trio."

A smile twitched at the corner of her lips. "A simple I'm sorry would have done the trick," she said before grinning. She hugged Bonnie and I. "I really thought you were beginning to shun me."

"Not in a million years," Bonnie said as we headed inside and grabbed a table.

The night had made me feel completely normal; as if nothing supernatural in my life existed. I had dropped Bonnie off and headed home with the feeling still lingering around me. Jenna was putting something in the fridge when I came in. "Please tell me you ate," she said.

"I just got done at the Grill. Spur of the moment thing," I assured her as I approached the kitchen and stopped when I saw Uncle John lounging on the sofa in the living room that connected to the kitchen.

"Have you been avoiding me Elena?" he called as he turned his head to look at me.

"Yes," I said flatly before looking back at Jenna. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When I got to my room, there was a note on my pillow. My window was still shut and locked, leaving me a little scared at who would have left a note and how they got in. I reached for it and relaxed when I read it. _Elena, meet me at your parent's marker tonight at midnight._

I smiled, still a little confused at how Damon had gotten in here with the window locked, but ignored it and waited for the right time to leave the house. Jenna was in bed at eleven-thirty and Uncle John was gone. I left a note for Jenna just in case she woke up and came to check on me. I grabbed a light jacket and headed out. At the graveyard, I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders, glad that I had brought it at all. "Damon?" I called out when I got to the marker.

Something was very, very wrong.

There was a childish laugh that filled the quiet and I spun around to see Katherine. "Now why would you assume that Damon would have sent that note?" Her eyes were sparkling with hatred and mild curiosity.

"I-"

She tsked me and wagged her finger at me. "You're playing a dangerous game Elena," she said sternly. "I had the upper hand then; I was the strongest of us. You're playing with the dead hearts of two very powerful vampires."

I stood straighter and tried to squash my fears. I knew she would use them to her advantage. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know that it is hard to choose between them. They're both so...delicious," she said, the word rolling off her tongue as if reliving a distant memory. "Don't you agree?"

"I'm leaving," I said and turned my back on her. I knew it wasn't the best idea, but it was the only idea I had.

"You're not fooling anyone Elena. That kiss I saw wasn't the first and it won't be the last. At least I had the decency to be up front with them both about my feelings for them."

I stopped and turned to face her again. "Decency? If you had any decency at all, you would have picked one from the beginning and-"

She smiled cruelly as I stopped myself. "Easier said then done isn't it?" I had nothing else to say to her. I turned to walk away again, but she was there with her hands around my throat. "Don't you dare walk away from me!" she shrieked, her eyes darkened in blood lust. She threw me to the ground and stared down at me, her fangs still at their full length.

"Just kill me and get it over with," I said as I rubbed my bruised throat.

She snarled, if she hadn't been in her current state, it would have been a whine. "So you can wake up in Transition?" she spat. She clenched her fists at her side and stared at me, her eyes throwing daggers. "They are _mine_; not yours!"

I narrowed my eyes at her as I got to my feet. "You think they want you? After all you've done to them? You made Stefan into something that he hates although he won't admit it. You abandoned Damon and you just expect to come back and make amends so you can have them all to yourself. Well, they don't belong to you. They never have."

Her hands were at my throat again, her nails digging painfully into my skin. "I'm not sharing them with you. You're just a human!" she hissed and I screamed as her fangs tore at my throat. I fought her until I couldn't move, my entire body in agony until she let me go. I crashed to the ground, my head spinning. She was smiling madly, her chin dripping with my blood. "If you survive this, I'll think about sharing," she said and then she was gone.

It took the last ounce of strength that I had to find my phone in my pocket. Only to discover that the battery had died. I took a few deep breaths to keep the oncoming blackness at bay, but it didn't work. The only thing running through my mind was that I would never get to really say I love you to Damon as everything turned black.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm undecided on whether or not I'm going to make Elena a vampire so I would love to hear your opinions to help me decide :). (and yes, I just figured out how to input a space between parts!)**

FIFTEEN

Distant voices were barely audible as I began to come to. I kept my eyes closed as I focused on what was being said and who it was. It was Stefan and Katherine. I was afraid of where I was, considering she had left me for dead in the cemetery. "You called me here to get revenge. You don't want her dead, you don't want her turned. What the hell do you want Stefan?" Katherine whined.

The sharpness of her voice made my body tense. It was as if someone had replaced my ears with sound magnifiers. "I want Damon out of the picture. You were supposed to come back and remind him why he wanted you."

I heard a crash. I tried to open my eyes. The light coming from the room blinded me until my eyes adjusted. I could see Katherine pinning Stefan to the wall, his feet dangling above the floor. "I came here because you asked me to help you. You must have forgotten it was your fault that vampires were caught in the first place."

She released him and he grabbed her shoulders. "Then why did you agree to come back?"

"Boredom," she said in a deadpan voice. My vision was beginning to blur again and I could feel consciousness slipping away as she continued. "And I'm beginning to grow bored of this little game too. Someone is going to die and if you want me to stay, it better be soon," she added and then left. I saw Stefan enter the room and approach me before I blacked out again.

* * *

My eyes shot open as I panted for air. I looked around, trying to see where I was and realized I was in my own room. My phone was plugged into the charger on the nightstand beside me. I took deep breaths trying to remember anything about where I had been and more importantly, how long I had been out for. I grabbed for my phone, trying to keep my meltdown at bay. I gasped at the time and date. It was ten o'clock Wednesday night. I had been out for almost a full day. I scrolled through my phone and dialed Damon without thinking and held my phone in trembling hands. He answered on the first ring. "Elena?"

I tried to speak, but no words come out. Instead, I began to cry softly. The line had gone dead and I dropped my phone. A few seconds later, the air in the room changed as Damon came through the door and gathered me into his arms. "Katherine-" I managed to choke out.

He urged me to be quiet until I had calmed down. Being here in his arms was all that mattered. I pulled back slightly so that I could look at him. He wiped away my tears and then tipped my head up to look at my throat. "What happened?" he asked in a tight voice.

"There was a note on my bed when I got home and I thought it was from you. I went to the graveyard and she was there. She admitted why she was here and she attacked me," I said as best I could, my voice still shaking slightly.

His face hardened. "Who brought you home?"

I shook my head and then remembered the little scene I had witnessed with Stefan and Katherine. I told him about it and wiped away a few more tears. "Why would he save me if he arranged to have her kill me in the first place?"

"He didn't arrange to have you killed, that was all Katherine. He saved you because he's still in love with you." He snorted and shook his head. "Saint Stefan might want to get even with me about this, but he doesn't want his hands dirty. That's where she comes in. As he's finding out, she doesn't do what she's told."

"Damon, you can't go after her."

"She almost killed you!" he shouted and then relaxed at the look of alarm on my face that Jenna was probably in her room or downstairs.

"I know that, the last thing I need is for either one of you to set her off and die as well. If she kills me, I'll come back. You won't." He looked at me as if he hadn't thought of me as a vampire much. "Whether I was going to be with you or Stefan, eventually I'm going to have to make that choice. Like you said, I don't want to get to be too old for you before I make up my mind."

"It's a choice you should be able to make on your own, not because someone attacked you," he said quietly.

I stood up and slid my hand over his. "Would you have chosen this life had you been given the chance?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

I nodded once and he pulled me to him as if he still wasn't sure I was there. "I've read myths that you can become a vampire with a certain amount of blood exchanges. Is there any truth to that?" I asked, pulling my head back to look at him.

I felt much better as that trademark smirk claimed his face. "I'm usually a one time trader."

I shook my head as I laughed, some of the tension dissolving. I buried my head back onto his chest and clung to him. I would have stayed there forever if I could have, but we had to talk about the next step. I moved to sit cross legged on the bed, using the headboard as a back rest. He draped himself across the foot of the bed facing me. "I'm assuming Stefan gave me some of his blood and then brought me back here."

"Either that or the blood I gave you kicked in."

I pursed my lips as I remembered something. "Why do you think John wanted me to turn over Stefan, but not you?"

He grinned, his teeth flashing white from the moonlight pouring into the room. It was the first time I realized that no lights were on, but I could see everything as if it were midday. "I guess I'm not his type."

I threw a pillow at him that he caught and hugged it to his chest. "I'm being serious," I said, trying to keep a straight face. He only shrugged as he stood up. "Where are you going?" I asked as I hurried off the bed and followed him to the stairs.

"Am I not allowed to get a drink?" he asked, smiling sideways at me as we walked down to the kitchen.

"I don't know if Jenna will appreciate you drinking her booze," I said mildly as I hauled myself up to sit on the counter.

"I'll make sure to replace it. Besides, she adores me."

I rolled my eyes as he poured two glasses. "Damon, I'm not drinking with you. Not now."

He handed me a glass. "After what you've been through, you deserve one."

I took it and tossed it back without breaking his gaze. He drank his slowly before moving to wedge himself between my legs. I locked my ankles behind him and rested my arms over his shoulders, bringing him closer. I closed my eyes as my forehead pressed against his. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd be dead right now," he said and kissed me quickly. "No, actually you'd be so bored out of your mind with Saint Stefan."

I kissed him soundly. "I don't want to talk about him. I don't want to talk about anything," I breathed.

"I like the way you think," he whispered and reclaimed my lips. His fingers twisted in my hair, leaving me breathless and lightheaded at the fierceness of his kiss. After the horror of last night, being with him felt like paradise.

"We should move this upstairs," I murmured, surprised that I was able to form sentences. He lifted me up so that I could still keep my legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me towards the stairs. We made it a few steps up before he stopped and shoved my back against the wall. I groaned with pleasure overlooking that fact that someone might be home. With that thought, my arousal seemed to vanish as that horrible feeling crept up my spine. "Stop," I demanded breathlessly and pulled his head away from mine.

I unhook my legs and he helped me steady myself on the stairs although kept me tight between him and the wall. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, looking at me as though I had lost my mind.

"Tell me you sense Jeremy and Jenna sleeping in their rooms and I'll pick right back up," I replied.

My fears were confirmed by the look on his face. Before I could say anything, the front door burst open to Jenna, Alaric, and John. "Elena?!" Jenna cried and started to cry out of both relief and guilt. I moved down to hug her, the fact that Damon and I had been extremely close was not lost on the other two boys. "Where the hell have you been?"

She was cutting off my air supply and reluctantly let me go when I started to cough. She wiped tears from her face and started at me. "What do you mean where have I been?"

"There was an attack at the graveyard last night. One of the homeless people wandered by and saw someone matching your description covered in blood. He left to call the police and when he came back with them, she was gone, but there was blood everywhere," John explained.

"Then you weren't in school and Stefan didn't know where you were either. He said he'd been calling you all day," Alaric added. I stiffened at that revelation. If Stefan had been at school today, then when I had I heard him and Katherine arguing and where was I at that time?

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Jenna demanded to know, obviously upset with me. It was very unfair; everyone in the room knew the truth except for Jenna.

I saw John nod, his eyes looking past my shoulder. Damon came down to take Jenna gently by the shoulders. "Elena was home safe and sound all day today. She wasn't feeling good and you let her stay home. She was not attacked. You're very tired and you want to sleep," he said, using his compulsion on her.

She muttered something in response before collapsing in his arms. "I'll put her to bed," Alaric said and scooped her up before taking her to her room.

My mind was racing over the fact that Jenna had enlisted Alaric and John to hunt me down and that neither Damon or I's heightened senses had noticed anything was off until they came home. I felt the squeeze of another hand in mine and looked to see Damon who had moved closer to my side. John was staring at us with heavy disapproval though he didn't say anything. "Where's Jeremy?" I asked once Alaric had come back downstairs.

"He didn't show up for school either," he said.

"Elena, we know that Katherine attacked you last night," John stated.

I glared at him. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you hated vampires and humans who associated with them."

"Jeremy is my nephew and he is missing. I have every right to be concerned."

"Yes, Katherine attacked Elena, but she's fine now," Damon said, his eyes focused on John. "She doesn't need to be reminded of it."

"Everyone just calm down. We don't know for sure if Jeremy is missing or not, but it's not like him to go off on his own for this long. It's just too much of a coincidence that it happened to be the same day you disappeared too," Alaric said. "I think you two need to tell us what's going on with Stefan."

I let Damon explain via the short version of why Katherine was back and how Stefan was in league with her. "Jeremy is with Katherine because Stefan is jealous and vengeful?" John asked as more a rhetorical question.

I nodded. "We have to find him and get him back."

"You are not going to do anything," John corrected. "We can handle this on our own."

"I agree," Damon added and I glared at him.

"This is my fault that Jeremy's in this position. I'm not going to sit here and do nothing."

"Katherine has my nephew, I'm not going to let her have my daughter too," John said forcefully before he could stop himself.

I was stunned into complete silence. Alaric turned to give John the same look I was giving him when I noticed Damon's expression hadn't changed. "You knew about this?"

"I suspected."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place nor did I want to get into details of how I came to suspect anything," he said tightly.

I shuddered as the thought I didn't want crept into my head and lingered there long enough to make me sick. All three men in front of me had been with Isobel who just happened to be my mother. Alaric was the most stunned which struck me as odd considering it wasn't his father that had revealed himself for the first time. I cleared my throat and shook the thought as far away as I could. "Fine, let's just forget about that and move on to how we're going to find Jeremy."

Everyone was silent for a minute before Damon came up with a suggestion. Coincidentally it was the one I was thinking of too. "We could ask Bonnie. Maybe she can do a tracking spell."

"Let's go," I said as I grabbed my jacket from the peg.

Damon caught me by my bicep and pulled me aside. "You should probably change your clothes for one and don't you think it's a little late to go marching over to her house?"

I glanced down, hardly noticing that I was in some sort of pajamas. I tried not to think about the fact that I was wearing actual clothes last I checked. "Fine, I'll change and as for time, she said if I needed her, she would be there." I started walking back up the stairs. "Don't even think of leaving without me. I'll just follow you."

Damon was the only one that thought it was funny. I hurried to change into jeans and a shirt before coming back down to join them, barely remembering to bring my phone with me. "Let's go," John said and we headed out to Alaric's car.

"Wait!" I cried. "Don't we need something that she can trace? Like hair or something?"

Damon raced back inside with his superhuman speed and came back with a hairbrush in under a minute. "Anything else?" Alaric asked.

We piled into his car, Damon and I taking the backseat. I sent a message to Bonnie that we were on our way over. If she didn't respond, I would call when we got there. Damon held my hand the whole ride there, but no one said a word. Alaric parked a few houses down and turned the car off. "We'll be right back," I said as Damon and I slipped out of the car and walked the short distance to her house. I called her and she answered on the third ring.

"Elena? What time is it?"

"It's late. I'm sorry I woke you, but I need a huge, huge favor."

She yawned and I heard the bed groan as she moved. "What do you need?"

"Well, we're in front of your house. Jeremy's missing and we need you to do a tracking spell if you can."

She must have woken up completely then because she was both angry and worried at the same time. "You were attacked last night weren't you?"

"I'll talk about it later," I promised as I waved to her at her window.

"Come on up, it won't take long to do the spell," she said. She saw me look at Damon and she nodded. "He can come in."

"You'll have to say it again when we get to the threshold," I told her and passed the phone to him after I opened the door.

He handed the phone back to me. "My parents aren't home. They're at my aunts and they stayed later then they intended," she said and then hung up as we met her at the stairs.

Damon gave her the brush and she nodded. "I should mention we're in a time crunch," he said.

"Magick isn't something that can be rushed," she said lightly as we followed her to her room. We waited patiently for her to set up and find the spell in the book that she needed. I could tell she was hurrying, but I was getting impatient. When she was done, she handed the brush to me and bit her lip.

"Bonnie?"

"I can't get a read on him." My breath caught in my throat. "It doesn't mean he's dead. It could mean that he doesn't know where he is. If he can't see his surroundings, I can only feel what he feels. Without sight, it's hard to track someone."

I noticed a shift in Damon. "I know where they are."

"Where?" I asked, noticing the way he cursed himself as if he should have thought of this before.

"There was an old church on the outskirts of town. It was filled with catacombs that were always caving in. She would have brought him there." He swore. "That's where she was hiding before she found us. I should have known."

"It's alright. Come on, they're waiting for us."

"Elena?" she called after us as we bolted down the stairs.

"Yes?"

"Be careful." I nodded, taking a good look at her not knowing if it was going to be the last time I saw her or not. With that, we went to the car and drove off into the night.


	16. Chapter 16

We had parked about a mile from the place Damon was leading us to. The three of them were arguing about different ways to attack now that we all carried as many weapons as we could handle from Alaric's trunk. "They'll be expecting you to rush in," John said to Damon. It was the first bit of their conversation I had listened to. "Besides, we're here to get Jeremy and I might just have to kill your brother and Katherine."

"Stop it," I demanded. "They'll be expecting anything we do. They're just not expecting that we know why they're here and doing what they're doing." I looked at John. "No one is killing Stefan. Drug him as heavily as you want, but no one is killing him."

"What about Katherine?" Alaric asked, looking at Damon for the answer.

"Kill her if you get the chance," he said coldly. "She won't think twice about killing you."

Alaric nodded and looked me. "As soon as you walk up there, they're going to go after you. They're not really concerned with us at the moment."

"I know. Katherine was planning on leaving me for dead. She wasn't expecting Stefan to come and save me. She was very angry that he did."

Alaric and John exchanged glances. They looked at Damon. "You didn't save her?"

His lip curled. "That was Stefan. Like I told Elena, he wants to hate us, but he doesn't want our blood on his hands."

"If we managed to get him, do you think we could use him as a bargaining tool?" Alaric asked.

"No," Damon and I said in unison. "Katherine doesn't give a damn about him. She's here to get her own revenge on the town," Damon continued.

I nodded, "It's true. She came because he offered her an opportunity and she took it. The minute she's had enough of him, she'll kill him and move ahead with her own plan."

"You two start planning something," Damon said to Alaric and John before pulling me out of their hearing range.

"What?"

"I know that you don't want Stefan dead, but if you have to, can you do it?" he asked.

"I was the one that pumped him with vervain."

He shook his head. "This is not the same. Your life wasn't in danger like it is now. He may not want you dead either, but he may not be able to control himself. He almost killed you once Elena; it might happen again."

I sighed. "I'll do what I need to; feelings aside."

"Feelings aside?" he repeated.

I didn't want to say anything, but I felt that I owed him an explanation. "Look, I'm always going to love Stefan because he introduced me to this world. He had his humanity before he was kidnapped by the other vampires. If I had just been honest with him about my feelings for you..." my voice trailed off before I cleared my throat and continued. "He was never this hateful. There was a time when you weren't always this caring either."

"I know."

"Whatever the outcome, I'm not going back to him," I assured him, knowing that was what he was trying to get out of me. "You were right when you said I was already yours." He grinned as he pulled me to him for a deep kiss. I pulled my head back and exposed my neck to him. "You should take some."

"I'm fine."

"Humor me," I said and pulled my hair to one side. He sighed, my eyes flickered to John and Alaric who looked away at that moment, and then closed my eyes as I felt his fangs pierce my skin. I moaned lightly at the heavenly feel of giving blood that ended much too soon. He licked his lips and kissed me quickly before biting his wrist to give me a small amount of his blood.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," I returned and held my hand out to him. He grabbed my hand and led me back to John and Alaric.

They filled us in on what they had planned and we split up into groups of two. Damon and Alaric went to enter through the back way. They were good as a team, as they had realized when they went to rescue Stefan. That left me with John. Not something I was happy about, but I had no choice. "I will explain everything to you after this," he promised me before we got close enough to the ruined church.

_If we survive this_, I thought to myself but aloud I said, "Okay."

He stopped and pulled the ring that he always wore from his finger. He extended his hand with the ring on his palm towards me. "Take it."

I was throughly confused. "Why?"

"Isobel gave this to me a long time ago. It's what brought me back to life after Damon killed me."

His words startled me. I hadn't known about that. "Then what about you?" I asked as I realized Alaric had the same ring.

"Isobel would do much worse to me if I survived and you didn't," he said with a faint smile.

I shook my head and gently pushed his arm away from me. "Thanks, but I have my own back-up plan."

He nodded once, even though his lips were tightly drawn back. "I don't like that idea."

"I'm not exactly thrilled with it either. If you want, you can give it to Jeremy when we find him," I suggested.

"We will find him," he said in agreement. It was strange to think that Jeremy and I had been raised to be brother and sister and in the past few weeks I gone to finding out we weren't related at all to knowing that we were cousins instead. "We should probably stop talking."

"I don't hear anything inside," I said quietly, earning a somewhat frightened look from John. "But I'll let you know if I do."

We moved carefully and as quietly as we could towards the entrance of the church. For being an old, ruined church, it was still mostly intact. It was just a few pieces of wall here and there that had fallen off with age. And it was fairly large, one of the churches that had been built with the founding of the town. Ever since I could remember it had been closed for safety reasons. People had always snuck away here for "alone time" after dances and things, but it was mostly on the grounds, not inside. There was always some sort of lock on the door to keep teenagers out.

I closed my eyes to focus on any sound coming from inside and didn't hear a thing. Not even a cricket chirping nearby. Something was definitely wrong with that picture. Even as we entered the church and shuffled our way through the ruins, I noticed that I wasn't making as much noise as I normally did. It was an odd feeling because I had exchanged blood before, but never had I moved this soundlessly. It gave me the chills to think that I was a little closer to being a vampire than I cared to admit. John followed my every move although I knew he couldn't see in the dark like I could.

The moon overhead cast an eerie silver shadow over everything it touched. I paused at the foot of a staircase that led up to where the choir would have sang during service. I could hear a faint struggling noise coming from down below. I searched the moonlit space until I saw a door on the wall opposite the stairs. I touched John's arm and motioned towards the door. He inclined his head and followed me towards it. I opened the door cautiously, waiting for some sort of a creak, but it swung open soundlessly as though it had recently been oiled. So this is where Katherine had been while she was in town and where Stefan had run off to.

I slowly made my way down the rickety stairs, stretching out with my senses for the noise that got a little louder down here. There was no moonlight except what came in through the doorway. I couldn't see more than five feet in front of me. John was so close behind me that I could hear his chest rise and fall in time with his breathing. It was comforting to know that I wasn't alone down here and it gave me the little confidence to go on a little further using my other heightened senses.

"Where are we?" he asked as we approached a tunnel lighted by burning torches.

"We're definitely in the right spot if there's torches. These are the catacombs," I said as I looked ahead as far as I could and noticed the way that the tunnel curved downwards slightly. "I'll bet you anything that there's going to several of them after this main one."

"Do you think he would be down there?"

"Bonnie said he was surrounded by darkness. I don't see any other logical explanation. I didn't even know this was down here."

"The Council used it to perform experiments to better their defenses against the vampires once the learned they were here. There was supposedly a cave-in that blocked off their use."

"Apparently not," I muttered as I grabbed one of the torches off the wall and handed it to him. He nodded in agreement and then fell silent as he followed me through the tunnel.

It was a good five minutes before we stopped at the end of the tunnel. There was three more entrances before us. One left, one right, and one straight ahead. "Now where?"

"I don't know," I said and closed my eyes again, trying to hear the sound I was following. It seemed to have disappeared. I was about to say something else when the air shifted around us and a scream died in my throat when I opened my eyes to see Stefan standing in front of us.

John pulled me behind him and gripped the torch a little tighter. "Where is Jeremy?"

His brows furrowed together. "Jeremy? I don't know."

"Stefan, just tell us where he is. He's not part of this," I said, looking at him from behind John.

His eyes flickered to me. "He knows all about us since he started hanging out with Anna. You were just too busy to notice."

I clamped my mouth shut from the pain in his voice. "Then where is he?" John asked again.

"He's not here," he replied. He was standing somewhat relaxed with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He looked more like a hunter now than ever. "You can trust me on that."

"Trust you? After everything you've done, you want us to trust you?" John spat.

He said nothing, the air around thickening with tension. He was watching both of us intently as if he wanted to attack, but wasn't sure whether he should or not. John reached behind him for the stake that he had in the waistband of his pants. I kept my face emotionless even my mind was screaming out for me to stop him. Just as he went to throw it, Stefan pounced and threw him against the wall. I heard a loud crack and it made me gasp. As John slid to the ground unconscious, there was a trail of blood that smeared the wall. I moved towards him, unsure that the ring could heal him from that, but was stopped as Stefan wrapped his arms around me from behind and started pulling me away. The torch had fallen to the ground, landing in a puddle of water I hadn't noticed and extinguished itself. I opened my mouth to scream, but was prevented as Stefan's hand went over my mouth. I struggled against him as he pulled me out of the pitch black tunnel.

Except we didn't go the way I had come; we were going further into the catacombs. At the end of one tunnel there was another door. It was open and Stefan through me to the ground before shutting the door and sealing us inside. "You killed him you son of a bitch!" I yelled and went after him.

He merely held both of my writs and watched me attempt to hit him. He shoved me back when I started to lessen my struggle. "He'll be fine."

I was shaking from head to toe, my fists balled at my sides. "How could you do this to me? To your brother?"

He ran a hand through his tousled blond hair and shook his head at me. "How could I do _this_ to _you_? Let's try how could you do what you did to me? I was having a little bit of trouble with human blood for a day or two before you started seeing him. You're no better than Katherine."

His words hit me like a freight train. He was right, of course, but it still stung. "You should have confronted me, not gone off to Katherine like a child," I snapped. "When I said I loved you, I meant it. That kiss by the cell was a mistake. I'm sorry you had to hear that. But you left, Stefan. For all I knew you weren't coming back."

He laughed bitterly. "So you jumped into bed with Damon?"

My fists balled at my sides. "We were both hurt at the fact that you had left. He saved my life after you nearly killed me."

"I was only gone for a week. You two had started whatever you have long before that. Anyone with eyes could see it. The night that you met Katherine confirmed everything for me."

I shook my head. "The moment you decided to bring Katherine back and plot this revenge scheme was the moment you ended our relationship. You should have come to me about this."

In the blink of an eye, he had me pinned to the wall. "Like you would have told me. Just like you have yet to tell me why you both came out of his room to find me the night I came back."

My eyes widened in mild surprise. So he had been purposefully attacked just to break Damon and I up. "Nothing happened."

"Because I came back," he sneered. His hands were at my throat and I braced myself for him to squeeze.

"Yes and no. You said it yourself, anyone could see how Damon and I felt about each other; including you," I said slowly, waiting for some sort of emotional outburst. "Neither of us meant for it to happen."

He snarled at that and I flinched. "I'm glad to know that you would have endured a lifetime of misery with me."

"Stefan-"

"No!" he spat and tightened his grip on my throat with a sudden force that made my head bounce off the jagged stone behind me. The room began to spin instantly as I began to choke from lack of air. "He took Katherine from me; he's not getting you too!"

I used what little air I had left inside my lungs to lift my knee and catch him in the groin. It took him by surprise and he let me go. I stumbled away from him, forcing air to return to my lungs. I reached the door and wrenched it open before he could get to it which made me nervous. There was no way that I should have been able to get there before he did. I screamed as he tackled me in the tunnel and I came down hard on my left shoulder. He just stood there looking down at me. In the brief lighting I could see anger and hurt clear in his eyes and the debate about whether or not he wanted to hurt me going on in his head. "It's not me you're mad at. It's Katherine."

He pulled me to my feet and pinned me to the wall again. "No, it's you. I knew I didn't stand a chance with Katherine. I'll be damned if I let you be with him too," he said and bared his fangs before going down to my throat.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you, dear brother, that you already are damned?" Damon asked from not too far away. "Not to mention that you have been for quite some time now."

Tears of relief and fear ran down my face as Stefan pulled his face away from me and turned to look at Damon. Before I could get away, he used me like a human shield, pinning my arms down at my sides with one arm, the other hand keeping my head tipped to the side. "I met her first."

"Yes, that seems to be a theme with you," he said nonchalantly although he was poised for attack. "Funny how the saying 'good guys finish last' never applies to you."

He tightened his hold on me and I gasped. "Back away or I swear I'll kill her."

"Then neither one of us can have her," Damon replied and I looked at him in alarm. "Face it Stefan, a love triangle is all that we're meant for. You don't want to take away our fun do you?"

I knew he was saying these things to make Stefan let go, but they weren't pleasant to hear. He had taken another step closer and Stefan's grip tightened again. My bruised shoulder was in agony from the pressure he was applying. I tried to ignore it, but it was beginning to cloud my vision. "Back away."

"This is between you and I little brother. Elena is not part of this."

"She's the reason we're here!" Stefan shouted.

"Funny how history is always doomed to repeat itself isn't?"

At that, I bent my knees up, my sudden dead weight caused Stefan to fumble and as he dropped me to the ground, Damon lunged at him. I had landed on my knees, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as my shoulder. I scrambled to my feet and dug the wooden stake out of my boot as well as the vervain needle. They were fighting in hyperdrive and I hesitated before striking out, afraid to hit the wrong one. "Stop it!" I yelled as Damon flung Stefan into the wall. There was a loud crack like when John had hit his head, but Stefan was back on his feet in seconds.

They were about to lunge again, but there was a low rumbling sound that made us all pause. The ceiling and the walls were beginning to shake. I looked at Damon in fright as I realized the catacombs were starting to cave in and I had no idea how far down we were. There was a snap and my eyes shot upward just as a large rock fell from above Stefan and pinned his legs to the floor. "Elena!" Damon shouted as I ran to Stefan's side.

Another rock fell near the entrance. I tried everything to lift the rock, but it wouldn't budge. "Help me!" I shrieked as I looked at Damon.

"We have to get out of here!" he returned and pulled my up by looping an arm around my waist.

I fought against him and he let me go. "Please, just lift the rock."

He sighed before returning to his brother and lifting the giant rock from his legs. "Let's go," he said and we started running. We didn't get very far before the catacombs began to shake so bad that we fell to the ground. Damon used himself as a shield over me and my face was turned towards Stefan. He was still laying there, but I noticed in complete horror that the ceiling around him began to collapse all at once and in the blink of an eye, I was only staring at a pile of rubble.

"Stefan!" I cried as I got to my feet.

"Elena, we have to go," Damon urged and picked me up. He ran with me at the fastest speed he could manage. We reached the stairs that led back up to the main part of the church. John and Alaric were waiting there for us. Damon continued outside to the grounds of the church before he set me on the grass.

I could do nothing but think about what I had just seen. My body and my mind were both numb with shock. I barely heard what the others were saying. They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder watching me with concern. "Where is Jeremy?" John asked.

"He was never there," Damon answered.

"What do you mean he wasn't there? I thought Bonnie said-" John started.

"He could just be at Anna's," Alaric jumped in.

They started arguing and I tuned them out. I closed my eyes and tried to justify what I had just witnessed. All of us were too busy to notice the shift in the air and I barely had time to scream as I was hauled to my feet by Katherine. All three men stopped immediately and took a half step towards me. "You couldn't just stay dead could you!" she hissed at me. "Well, Stefan's not here to save you this time."

My eyes went wide and I cried out as something sharp pierced me in the lower back. I slipped back to the ground, my body withering in pain as I saw Damon and John go after her. Alaric came to my side and pulled out the wooden stake from my back. "Stay with me Elena," he said, but his voice was getting further and further away.

Just when I thought my life was over, there was a sudden tightness in my back and I felt as though my skin and my spine was knitting itself back together. I sat up, much to Alaric's surprise. "Damon gave me some blood. It's what healed me." It was then I realized my shoulder was healed too.

"Still human?"

I nodded. "Come on, we have a vampire to kill."


	17. Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

The fight had taken the other three away from the grounds of the church where Katherine had stabbed me. We found John near where we had parked the car. He was sprawled on the ground. Alaric helped him to his feet and laid him on the hood of the car until the ring healed him completely. "Where could they have gone?" Alaric asked.

"The tomb, the old house, or the new house," I suggested. "I just don't understand why they would go there if they were fighting here."

"They were using their speed. They might not have realized they were moving even though they were," John said looking at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded even though it was a lie. Physically, I was fine. Emotionally, I was dead inside. Stefan had been killed in the cave in, we had no idea where Jeremy was, and Damon was off fighting to the death with Katherine. Normally, I wouldn't worry about him, but the fact that Katherine was older and faster made me sick with worry. It didn't help that she had no emotions either. "We have to find them."

"You've had enough for one night," John said sternly.

"I've had more than my share of excitement, but I'm not leaving Damon alone to fight with her. She's expecting me to be dead right now and I think Damon might think that as well. It's the only thing we have to our advantage. She's not going to stop with Damon, she'll just continue with the rest of the town," I said and started moving towards the woods. The ruined house that Stefan and Damon had grown up in was about a ten minute walk from the church.

"Elena!" both Alaric and John called, but I was already running. I could barely hear their curses as they ran after me.

I didn't have to look back to know that I was running impossibly fast for a human, but not quite as fast as a vampire. I wasn't even breathing hard. It cut my time in half and sure enough, Katherine and Damon were fighting in the middle of the ruins covered in blood. At the moment they were stalking each other in a circle, exchanging words. I covered my mouth to keep from gasping as I saw Damon's leg torn down to the bone. He was loosing much more blood than Katherine and I knew he wouldn't last much longer. I looked around for a weapon, realizing everything had fallen out or been dropped. I found a small branch and gripped it tightly as I waited for the moment to strike. I hoped that she was too occupied with killing Damon to notice me sneaking up her. I also hoped that if Damon noticed me, he wouldn't show it.

I made my way to one of the stone pillars that was still standing and crouched behind it. She was facing me at this point, but was in the process of moving this way. In a few moments she would be in striking range. "I spent my life thinking I could get you out of that tomb so we could be together. Then I come to find out that you were out all along and didn't even bother to tell me."

"What made you think that I wanted to be with you?" she sneered. "Don't you dare think for a second that you and Stefan were the first brothers I came between."

Of course he had thought of that before, but to hear it out loud made him still for a second. If I could see it, she could see it, yet she didn't attack. "The whole purpose of my game was for one of you to kill the other and make the choice for you. Stefan ruined everything when he went to his father on my behalf."

"What about the others you did this too? What did you do with the one that survived?" Damon asked.

She shrugged, "Sometimes I turned them, sometimes I killed them. I was prepared to let both of you live, but now, you're getting on my last nerve. You weren't supposed to fall in love with _her_! Neither of you were!"

Her back was to me at that moment and I didn't wait before I pounced. Damon hadn't saw me and was very surprised as I tackled Katherine to the ground. I had aimed for her heart, but she moved and I stabbed her in the abdomen. The wood in her blood should have killed her instantly, but it only stunned her. She lashed out and sent me flying into the pillar. I cried out as I fell to the ground and forced myself to my hands and knees as I watched Damon finish what I had started. Alaric and John were just approaching the house as Katherine's nails sunk into Damon's throat and clawed at his skin. I got to my feet and headed to them as Alaric ran forward and gave me two vervain needles. I whirled around and launched one at Katherine. It landed in the center of her back. "Stop it!"

She spun around quickly and barred her fangs at me, the syringe falling to the ground in the process. "Why don't you ever stay dead?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," I hissed.

She rushed at me and before I could react, her fangs sliced my throat and drank greedily. I struggled against her, my body in agony. I used the last bit of my strength to stab her again with the other needle. This time, it seemed to have an effect on her. She stumbled back and staggered to her knees as she clawed at her own throat. Her skin was turning an ashen grey as she convulsed. Alaric moved to stand by her poised with another needle, ready to strike again if necessary.

I smiled victoriously until I looked past her to Damon who hadn't moved since Katherine had last attacked him. "Damon!" I cried out and went to move. I was about to fall when John caught me. "He's dying!"

"Elena, he's-"

"Bring me to him," I demanded in a hoarse voice. He said nothing as he helped me over to Damon's side. Tears were running down my face as I saw him. His skin wasn't ashen like Katherine's, but he was whiter than usual. My body was trembling as I put my wrist over his lips. "Drink, damn it!" I hissed after a few seconds of no response.

I let out a sigh of relief as his mouth opened and his fangs slid into my flesh. I sagged against him on the ground as he drank deeply. My heart soared and I felt like I were floating. After a short period of time, my eyes began to felt heavy and I relaxed more than I wanted to. He kept drinking, every gulp made me feel more tired than the last. "Damon stop," John protested.

I muttered something but it was unintelligible even to my ears. My eyes were completely closed and it was extremely hard to breathe but I felt too good to care. Damon pulled my wrist from his mouth as if sensing the danger I was in and I felt him draw me into his lap. "Elena?" he called, his voice distant instead of close like it should have been. "Elena, open your eyes," he demanded and shook me.

My eyes fluttered open, but everything was disoriented. I smiled softly and reached up to touch his now healed face. "I love you," I breathed, hoping that he had heard me.

I had never seen him so distraught before I wondered why. I was only tired. All the pain was gone and Damon was alive. Why was he acting so sad? "We have to get her to a hospital," John said from somewhere near us.

"It's too late for that," Damon said, staring down at me. His fingers pushed the hair out of my face and traced my cheekbones.

"Then give her some blood," John fired back.

"It's too late for that," he repeated. "It will only do the same thing," he added. I took a deep breath as my heart beat slowed down. It felt like a weight was bearing down on my chest and I couldn't get another breath no matter how hard I tried. My eyes half-closed again and I tried to force a smile. It was easier than I thought it would be and my hand slipped away and hit the ground. I was so tired and I felt better than I ever felt. "I love you too," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

The single tear that rolled down his face told me everything. I wasn't just going to sleep, I was dying. He wasn't sorry about the fact that I was dying, he was sorry about what I was going to turn into. I tried to tell him that it was okay, that being a vampire wouldn't be so bad as long as he was with me. No sound came from lips as I struggled to breathe. It was useless. I took one last breath and gave in to the endless sleep that claimed me.

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**A/N: No, this is not a cliff-hanger, this is the end of this particular story. (sorry, I know it's short!) I'm working a sequel, so all will be explained and tied up in due time. Some of you asked about Stefan and the cave-in...I'm not saying anything ;) Thank you to all who reviewed and I will be posting the new story shortly and updating just as fast as I did with this one. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!!**


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